A heart buried in flames
by Bovragor
Summary: What if Maxes' life was not so kind and 'normal' during all those years away from Arcadia Bay? What if she experienced similar traumatic situations as Chloe? How much can people change and how strong can love burn a heart 'till there is nothing left? - Rated M for language, violence and mature content in later chapters. All characters are property of Dontnod and Square Enix.
1. Chapter 1

**WARNING:**

 **All characters and the story upon this fanfiction is based are property of Dontnod Entertainment and Square Enix. I don't own anything.**

 **Please note, that this is merely my take on the story and it will progress as the game did with a possible alternate ending (*roar* Pricefield for the win!).**

 **Characters might be OOC at times (Max will definetly be OOC, as I wanted to put her character through similar situations as Chloe was during the 5 years they were appart and wanted her character to be different).**

 **Chapters will contain up to four sub-sections as to make it easier to read (at least I hope it does... .).**

 **As this is my first story to be published here, I will be happy about every reviews - both good and bad as only so I can know what I have to improve. :)**

 **Rated M for crude and strong language at times, violence and mature content in later chapters.**

 **NB! This is also a small and most probably unworthy tribute to the author of the Life is Strange fanfiction 'Black Swan' which absolutely stole my heart, as well as to other authors who inspired this particular story.**

* * *

-Return to the roots-

* * *

It was strange to return to her old hometown. A place she had spent happier days in. A place where she had had friends. Friends she had abandoned when her parents moved to Seattle and took her with them. Hell… She had even abandoned her 'best friend forever' at a moment when this particular friend had needed her the most. Unintentionally the young teenage woman looked out of the window of the bus as if by any chance the strawberry blonde girl she remembered could be seen somewhere walking along the street as if nothing had changed. Well, like life would be so easy and let things happen for good and not for worse. Nothing stays unchanged. She knew that. She was a good example for it too. The young woman with brown and red short cut hair still reminisced about her friend from five years ago and her own fate, when the bus came to a halt at the Blackwell Academy and the driver signalled for all who wished to get out at the bus stop to do so.

The last five years had changed much in the life of Maxine 'Max' Caulfield, and not always for the better. The death of her mother from a suddenly aggressively expanding lung cancer three years prior had changed a lot for Max. Although it was always her father who would be the cheery oddball of the family and indulge in any possible hobby Max had set her eyes on, to make her life in Seattle as enjoyable as humanly possible, Vanessa's death left Ryan utterly devastated. At first Max had been just in shock and denial shutting her off from the outside world. She lost her interest in most of her hobbies somewhere along the way. Nothing seemed to give colour to her life anymore regardless of how hard her father tried to provide the love and comfort she should have received from both her parents. Later however the initial shock and denial subsided to give room to anger and sorrow. Yeah, she had been angry. At the world for taking her mother from her, at the others in her school for not caring at least a little bit and being totally oblivious to the anguish she felt, at her father for not being able to provide the love she needed to receive from her mother, at herself for being weak and pitiful. She didn't deny it – those were all childish, irrational and downright stupid accusations, especially at her father. But she just could not bring herself to 'forgive and forget'. She had no right to and at the same time it was the only thing that reminded her that her mother had existed. That a happier time had existed. Maybe this was the punishment the world had decreed for her for abandoning her best friend, when she had needed her the most and was in a similar situation? A grieving friend she had abandoned and not once contacted in two years before her mothers' death and not even once afterwards... Who knows? She certainly didn't. She did not care. She was still angry – at everybody and everything. She had attended classes and had done fairly well despite the traumatic experience, but after running away from home (twice) only to be brought back by the police did not really help to maintain a good image in school. When the bullying began, the shy girl had at first changed schools, but after it started again in the fourth school she had transferred to in less than a year Max decided to turn things around.

' _If you want to fight – fine! Let's fight! Bring it on, bitch!_ ' were her exact thoughts during that time of her life. With nothing really to lose and no real motivation to do anything else, she turned to her father and asked for permission to take up Muay Thai. Ryan, who was at this point desperate to somehow get his little girl to see something positive in her life again, complied with an enthusiasm he had not felt for nearly a year since the death of his wife. Only later would he be informed that his daughter used the gathered knowledge to shut up any rumours or bullies… violently most of the times, as although she was short, over two years of training and hard workouts she had become quite ripped.

Over the course of those two years it became also clearly evident that the once shy, dorky girl was no more. In her stead stood a ' _give-me-shit-and-I-will-break-you_ '-face-wearing, grim and bitter young woman that did not give a damn about school, rules or whatever. Somewhere along the road to this ' _not-even-final-form_ ' the happy, young girl with a tendency to fancy indie music and hipster-style clothes, had morphed into something else. The brown hair had been cut short, on one side to a pixie haircut and on the other – painted blood red. A black nose piercing and a silver tongue-piercing had also become somewhat of her trademarks. She had a tattoo on her left hand she had designed herself – a blue butterfly, as well as another on her neck. After playing the hell out of GTA V she just had to have the ' _cut-here_ '-tattoo that Trevor had. It held also another meaning for her, for different reasons though. The hipster-style had been dropped and instead Max now sported dark jeans, various shirts with the logos of her favourite bands, a black leather jacket and matching boots.

Despite this, or maybe because of this the last year she had spent at her last school in Seattle had not sucked as much, as it might have, as she found two likeminded friends there – Kristen and Fernando, who themselves had been something like the outcasts of their class. When Max had told them that she could play the guitar (electric and acoustic) they had insisted of joining their one-girl-one-boy band, and although Max had been reluctant at first, she had joined them and actually enjoyed both the company and the additional possibility to vent her anger. Stoner-rock had its perks. However those happy days were short-lived as soon other troubling things found their way into Maxes' life.

And then had come the big news – she had somehow made it into Blackwell Academy, a private school for 12th grade seniors. On a scholarship even! It was more for the sake of changing the scenery and getting away from the city that she made responsible for her mothers' death, than the actual interest in the Academy in her hometown. Still, somehow, it made her smile to see the nearly unchanged town as she exited the bus. Her father had sent her luggage with an express delivery to Blackwell already two days beforehand, so she had just to find which room she had been assigned to and hope that nobody else would be assigned to the same room. She really did not want anyone sitting on her nerves here.

Putting her ear-buds back in and picked up her rucksack (black leather of course), which was marked by stitches and pin-ups of various band logos. Not all was black and grim however, as Max knew, as much as she liked her look right now, her taste in music was more like that of an omnivore with a sweet-tooth for specific genres.

' _I wasn't there for you!_ ' screamed _Serj Tankian_ through her ear-buds, as the song _Streamline_ from SOAD started to play, while she made her way to the dorms.

' _Fits fucking perfectly._ ' Max thought with a sneer. It was time to see what life had in store for her.

To her surprise Max found out that she had a whole room just for herself. True, the girls' dorms had only one shower at the end of every floor, but she was fine with that. She couldn't be bothered less.

Immediately she set out to unpack the boxes containing her stuff and organising the room to her liking. It was not much, but it was hers and given the opportunity – why not make the best of the year in this ' _oh-so-cool_ ' Academy? At least she could make her room comfortable enough. The first thing to unpack was the laptop, which she booted right away after setting it on the table which was provided by the school. The next thing was the amplifier, which was promptly connected to the next-best socket and to the laptop. She put the volume on a comfortable level (for her) and continued to unpack singing to the song that was playing.

"She said 'I'll throw myself away. They're just photos after all. I can't make you hang around. I can't wash you off my skin." Max sang wistfully. This particular Queens of the Stone Age song held a meaning for her. Not an exceedingly happy one, but still happier than many others.

The hours flew by and by the time she had unpacked and arranged everything it was already time for the opening ceremony and the first lectures.

"Maybe-not-so-boring-ass-school life, here I come." Max muttered to herself as she set out to attend to her classes, a small smile on her lips, for maybe, just maybe this year could be different.

* * *

-A _fucking_ crazy day-

* * *

It had not been even a full two weeks before she already found her new life in Blackhell, as she decided to call the school, vexing to a point of throwing up. Half of the classes were made up by jocks or puffed up self-righteous and oh-so-pretty rich girls, who thought everything that moved or not was theirs to command.

There were a few exceptions though. A shy little mouse of a girl named Kate Marsh, who despite her strong beliefs in the Church was forthcoming and kind to Max. Another girl called Alyssa Anderson, who was kind enough to Max, as for the rocker-girl to decide not to ignore the little overweight young woman. Yet another girl named Brook Scott, who was kind off a geek, just the female version, was pretty O.K. too, at least in Maxes' opinion. There was also a nerd named Warren, who seemed to have already a crush on her, although she had been only nice to him once as she needed to borrow his flash drive (she could not find her own and had to settle for borrowing, while the new one was delivered).

On the other hand she had already deducted that the local rich-bitch-family, the Prescott's, were basically owning the school and the teachers in it, and their youngest son – Nathan – to be an asshole to boot. The stares he gave her and the snidely comments made her want to punch him in the face, but at the same time she didn't want to end her scholarship in her first month at the school regardless of how much she disliked it.

Victoria Chase was another typical rich-bitch with an attitude, that Max could nearly see the young woman bristling with anticipation of a possibility to bully someone. She did not hate her. That would be too strong a word for that lowlife, but she clearly knew, if Victoria would try to pull any of that shit on her, she would make her pay.

And then there was the photography teacher - Mr. Jefferson. Something in his attitude made her cringe. It was like there was something behind his eyes, out of reach to clearly tell what it was, but still there visible enough to make it uncomfortable to be in his presence. Luckily (well, maybe luckily) she had not to interact with him all too much for her attitude and clear set principle to give teachers that bother her a hard time afterwards seemed to keep him off her back most of the times. The only thing he insisted on was for her to take part in some sort of competition for photography telling her all sorts of stuff of how 't _alented_ ' she was or ' _what an eye she had for the true emotions in the distinct moments_ '.

' _Bullshit! That creep can keep his competition and his comments to! On those terms (and as long as he keeps away from me) I will have peace_.' She thought smiling at her own GoT reference, before settling in more comfortably in her chair, not paying any mind for said photography teacher droning on about the history of portraits and such. She did not remember falling asleep.

And suddenly Max was out there next to the lighthouse on the cliff looking over Arcadia Bay as a storm raged on. The wind howled as if possessed by evil spirits and then she saw it – a huge-ass tornado coming directly towards the shore and the little backwater town. Lightning strikes and suddenly the wind sweeps up a fishing boat which crashes into the lighthouse prompting the top of it to fall in Maxes' direction.

With a gasp Max woke up just to discover that she was still in the photography class and the creep of a teacher was still droning on. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes she took in the happenings in the classroom – Victoria was sucking up to creep-teach, Kate looked downright miserable and nobody was paying it any attention. The rest just pretended to give a damn about what Mr. Jefferson was talking about. Not really thinking about concentrating on class she just took up her old instant film camera and angles it so that the light falling form the windows was caught in her hair and snapped a shot. The Polaroid looked good and she allowed herself to smile a bit at the vanity of it all.

"I believe Max has taken what you kids call… 'selfie'. A dumb word for a wonderful photographic tradition. And Max-"whatever Mr. Creep-for-Pros was about to say was cut short, when Max snapped at him.

"Yeah, yeah! Whatever! Know what? I don't really feel like dwelling on this discussion, so why don't we just move on from where I interrupted your oh-so-interesting lecture, hm?" Max smiled radiantly, while her tone had been more than enough to signalise ' _Don't fuck with me Tony! Don't you ever try fuck me!_ '.

"Oh, well in that case, as you clearly have interest to join our conversation on the history of portraits after capturing our interest in such a manner, could you please tell us the name of the process that gave birth to the first self-portraits?" came the calm answer from the teacher, though Max was more than happy to hear the annoyance weighting heavy in his voice.

"I don't know." She simply answered. Not caring for what happened afterwards or where the discussion spiralled out after her little stunt. Victoria of course jumped to the opportunity to suck up even more to Mr. Jefferson and gave the correct answer. Whatever it was. She gave also some kind of mean comment about Max being stuck in the last century or such, but Max couldn't really care less. She was still a little dazed from her dream and didn't pay it much attention. She would get back at Victoria some time; she had a whole year before her.

After this little incident the class went on for a little while and Max was satisfied to note that it was not even _that_ late, when classes finished. On her way out she noticed Kate silently crying, drawing something in her notebook. Without thinking Max went over to the other girl.

"Hey, Bible-Kate! What's wrong?" she tried the cheery approach despite not feeling very cheerful herself.

"Oh, Max! N-No, it's… it's fine. Just thinking too much…" the girl weakly replied seeming even more miserable than humanly possible.

"Know what? I've been thinking a lot lately too. Wanna grab a be-… erm… maybe let's drink tea sometime together and tell Karma what a bitch she is?" Max thought that was a pretty good save there.

"Thanks, but not today, Max. I have homework to do." Kate answered, still looking downcast. 'Whelp, you can't cheer up anyone, now can you, Mad Max?' Max thought.

"No probs. If they give you shit and you want a *cough* beer *cough*… and just wanna hang out, you know where my room is." She gave the other girl a toothy grin, this time Kate smiled weakly, which was more of an achievement in Maxes' record books. She knew that Kate would never touch alcohol, but her act of not caring for the school norms had earned herself a smile from the religious girl, which was good. She hated to see the normally cheerful and kind girl in such low spirits (pun not intended).

With that she stepped out of the classroom and into the hallway of the Academy. Plucking in her ear-buds she quickly shuffles the music on her cell phone and settles on _Syd Matters – To all of you_. Hey, who ever said that a rock-girl couldn't like some indie or alternate music too?

' _Man, I need a rest. Restroom seems good enough to just freshen up a bit_.' Max thought making her way along the hallway.

Upon entering the girls' restroom Max suddenly saw a bright blue butterfly fluttering around. Now this was creeping her out big time. She had only seen such a butterfly three times in her life and none of them were in the slightest bit good. The first time was when her parents had declared that the y would move to Seattle and she couldn't even properly say goodbye to a friend that was like sister to her at the time, especially as her father had recently deceased and she had needed every support she could get. The second was when her mother was diagnosed with late stage lung cancer and died merely a month afterwards. The third time had been when her then-girlfriend had broken her heart and ditched her for some jock with more cash on his hands. It was the symbol on her left sleeve – a reminder how much could go wrong in life. And now this beautiful little show of fate putting up a big ' _FUCK YOU!_ ' sign right in her face was fluttering around the girls' restroom before settling on the bucket behind the restroom stalls.

As morbid as it might be Max simply couldn't resist taking a photo of this messenger of fate.

"Karma, you bitch! If you make me ruin this photo somehow, I will seriously punch your teeth in." Max hissed as she slowly crept towards the sitting butterfly. After lining up the perfect shot, she shot the picture and was more than satisfied by the outcome. Suddenly she heard the agitated voice of Nathan Prescott, rambling on about not letting people manipulate him, of how tired he was from the constant shit people gave him. At some point he even tried to calm himself mumbling something about how much money his family had and that he should not be afraid of anything.

She already wanted to come out behind the restroom stalls, when a blue-haired punker-girl came into the girls' restroom.

"So what do you want?" he said not looking up from the sink as the blue-haired girl checked the stalls if anyone was in there.

"I hope you checked the perimeter, as my step-ass would say. Now, let's talk bidness-"she answered in a tone which was light but at the same time provoking. ' _Point for you blue-chick._ ' Max thought as she watched on.

"I got nothing for you." Nathan shot back at her, anger clearly audible in his voice.

"Wrong. You got hella cash!" the punk replied.

"That is my family. Not me." Nathan spoke up again clearly not wanting this conversation.

"Oh boo-hoo, fucking rich kid. I know you've been pumpin' drugs and shit to the kids around here… and I bet your respectable family would help me out if I went to them." The girl did not even think of letting the matter drop.

Max was kind of zoning out as she tough this was just some random bullying and seeing Nathan get pushed around was kind of satisfying. Thus she was completely taken aback as the conversation of the two had an abrupt twist not only in volume, but also in content.

"You have no clue with whom you are messing, bitch!" Nathan snarled as he levelled a _Glock_ at the girl.

"Where did you get that? What are you doing? Come on, put that thing down!" the distress in the blue-haired girls voice was quickly turning into pure fear.

"Don't EVER tell me what to do! I'm sick of people trying to control me!" Nathan snarled as they wrestled over the gun, which he held against the girls; stomach.

And suddenly everything went by as if in a lightning flash.

"Nobody is gonna miss your 'punk-ass'!" Nathan screamed as the girl pushed him away with a 'Get away from me you psycho!'.

The gun went off.

"NO!" Max screamed and reached out to the falling girl with the gunshot wound in her stomach.

Time itself seemed to slow down, becoming pudding or at least very thick oil and coiling around Max like a chain.

* * *

-With great power comes great stress-

* * *

And then she was back in her class gasping at what she had just witnessed or thought she had witnessed as she took in her surroundings.

Creep-for-Pros was still droning on about portraits.

' _Whoa! Ok, what the fucking hell did just happen_?!' Maxes' mind was racing. ' _Ok, Max, just calm down. It was all a dream, a very fucking weird and realistic dream_.' At that moment Taylor threw a small ball of paper at Kate and Mr. Jefferson just continued as he had done already.

' _Ok! Hold on a minute! What is happening? This is so surreal. Is this some bad joke or did I somehow got stuck in a loop like in_ 'Groundhog Day'? Max thought in disbelief. Victoria's phone rang – _just as it_ _had done so before_. It startled Max so much she knocked over her camera as she set up straight in her seat. It fell and broke against the floor-tiles and as Max reached out time again seemed to slow down, coil around her.

" _Wait! What the actual FUCK?!_ _Can I slow time or rewind or some sort of stuff?_ " she muttered in utter shock. However, she _did_ reach out to this strange feeling that had built up inside her brain as she reached for the camera. And indeed time did rewind! Like it never happened! Her camera just glided from the floor up to her desk assembling to appear just as new as it had been before. The paper-ball Taylor had thrown flew over into her hand and the hand settled on her lap as the girls head returned in a position to watch if the teacher was looking her way.

And then it all started over again. Taylor throwing the ball at Kate, Victoria's phone ringing and Mr. Jefferson just blabbing on about portraits.

Just to test if her camera was really functioning after this, Max took a 'selfie'. Immediately Jeffercreep started his annoyed pointing out to Max as to what she had just done was 'taking a selfie and such'. Max felt seriously stressed and needed to leave this room as soon as possible before she would hyperventilate.

' _The girl in the restroom!_ ' it suddenly shot to her mind. ' _She is going to be killed if I don't do anything!_ ' Before Creepy-teach could even conclude his monologue and ask her whatever he was going to ask, Max already had grabbed her stuff, stood up and walked towards the door, just mumbling something about not feeling well and needing to go to the restroom as she passed the teacher. She did not even wait for him to respond.

As soon as she was out of the classroom she darted towards the restroom only to find the irritating blue insect fluttering around. Not taking any chances and not knowing if this was a trigger or not, she decided to take the picture of the butterfly again. This time around however she saw the fire alarm on the wall at the back. A plan simple, yet maybe functioning plan formed in her mind.

Just as before, Nathan stormed into the restroom soon followed by the blue-haired girl. Their argument started just as it had and soon they were again at gun-point. Literally.

This time however Max didn't let that fucker pull the trigger at the punk with blue hair. With a well-aimed kick she shattered the glass of the fire alarm with the heel of her boot instantly pushing with said heel the button causing the fire alarm to go off.

In that moment the punk-rock-girl pushed Nathans' hand holding the gun away from her and landed a heavy kick with her knee against his groin prompting the young man to whimper pathetically and fall to the ground. She swiftly swooped up the gun Nathan had dropped and backed out of the restroom. Recovering quicker than thought Nathan pushed himself up and followed suit stumbling out of the restroom. Damn, she had wanted to kick him just for good measure.

Max quickly grabbed her stuff and ran out herself afterwards but was thwarted by the security of the school, who inquired why she had not left the school building when the fire alarm had been activated all the while eyeing her suspiciously. Cooking up some lie was easy. She had learned how to deal with school security giving her the evil eye.

Finding her lie convincing the security guard let her run along, but Max was not paying him any mind. She already thought what she should do next. Telling the principal should be a safe bet, for although he was bought by the Prescotts there was only so much money could get you and a school could only overlook so much of breaking rules and endangering its students.

She found the principal quickly enough but after starting up a conversation and explaining what she saw (leaving out the details of a certain punk trying to blackmail Nathan), she already understood that while the principal would eventually look into the matter, he would not press this issue any further than he must. Clearly money and sucking up to the Prescotts was more than enough not to bust Nathan for his doings.

Frustrated with the principals reaction Max left him standing there caught in midsentence as she practically spat at him in disgust saying ' _And here I thought there was at least one figurehead in this damned town that still had morals._ ' Thinking about it a few minutes later, she quickly rewound time and simply left the principal to his musings after hearing him say ' _Those are pretty serious charges!_ ' and ' _I will look into this._ '

' _Yeah, right. Like hell you will_.' Max thought bitterly. Somehow she had seriously hoped that despite taking the Prescotts money at least someone in this town had still his morals intact and now she was seriously disappointed. ' _Every school is the same. Same shit everywhere._ '

As classes were suspended for the rest of the afternoon, Max decided that she really needed something to soothe her nerves and a bottle of beer and a small jam session would be most welcome right now. On her way to the dorms (and her secret stash of booze) she saw the other students busying themselves with whatever they could or liked. Some guys were playing ball, Alyssa was reading a book, Kate still looked miserable sitting alone on a bench at the far corner of the school-park, and Victoria and her cronies were sitting in the shade probably bitching about everyone and everything. Aside from quickly greeting Alyssa and inquiring about the book she was reading and trying to strike up a conversation with Kate, Max could not care less about the others gathering in the park. She was simply in no mood to play nice with anyone if it was no absolutely necessary right now.

As she entered her room, she simply dropped her bag and connected her electric guitar to the amplifier. She quickly put on some tabs on her laptop and began smashing. She did not care if it was loud. Everyone was probably outside and to be honest, she simply did not care. This whole day had proven to be more stressful than the whole getting back to Arcadia Bay issue.

Playing and singing along ' _Lost in Hollywood_ ' from SOAD, she left her mind drift. It was simply relaxing. Music had that effect on her. After a few more songs she concluded her mini-concert for herself with Depeche Modes' ' _Enjoy the silence_ '. ' _Oh, yeah, that I really did need right now._ ' Max thought tiredly as the song faded out.

* * *

-When you think it can't get stranger, just wait-

* * *

She put down the guitar and shut down the amplifier. A picture on one of the walls caught her attention and unwittingly she reached out and took the picture of the wall where it had been fastened with some tape. It showed her, when she was younger and her hair was long and brown, not like now. Next to her was another girl, showing the 'peace' sign with strawberry blond hair and a 'pirate-captains' hat on. Both of them were smiling. Those had been happy days.

"Chloe…" Max muttered and smiled sadly at the picture. If there had ever been a friend she needed more right now with all the stuff happening around her and this freakish new power to rewind time Chloe would have been that friend. They had been so close…

The buzzing of her cell phone indicated that she had just received a message. She picked it up from her bed, where she had carelessly thrown it too busy to get a stress-relief and not to focus on anything that could disturb her.

Only now she saw that it had not been only one message, but three. Warren asked for his flash drive, thanked her for sending her notes on Jeffersons' previous class and asked for his flash drive. In that order.

' _Well, gotta give the guy his precious back, if only for him to stop texting me on webmail every hour to ask for it._ ' Max groaned with played annoyance. She could see that Warren was a good hearted young man, but she really didn't want to give him hope where there was none to be found.

'We shall bring the One Flash Drive to the parking lot of Blackhell, where it shall be handed to a worthier bearer.' She quickly tipped in a reply. ' _Well, who is the nerd now?_ ' she thought amused. It seemed one thing about Arcadia Bay had definitely remained the same – it brought her nerdy side to shine through more often than she liked to admit.

"Oh, damn. Didn't I give it to Dana? Or was it Juliet?" Max face-palmed herself as the quick search of her room came up without the wanted results. "Well, still gotta get that flash drive and bring it to nerd-boy before he turns the whole parking lot into a wizard's castle."

With a resigning sigh Max picked up her bag and stowed her camera back inside which had fallen out of it, when she had dropped the bag on her bed along with the phone. She closed and bolted her door as she went out into the hallway of her dorms and started off in the direction of Danas' and Juliet's room.

To her surprise she found Juliet standing before her door fuming and talking agitatedly with the other girl, who appeared to be locked inside the room.

"Hey! What's wrong with you two gal-pals?" she asked, dumbfounded by the sheer childishness of the scene she was seeing.

"Oh! And what do you care, Max? You constantly zone out and never seem to really listen to anything anyone is saying! So why are you so interested right now?" Juliet shot back glaring angrily at Max.

"Woah! Now hold your horses, Ms. Watson! Has Sherlock permitted you to just go off and piss on every helping hand extended?" Max rebuked, just raising a brow at the other girl. She was seriously too tired to care or get angry at the other girl. Yeah, Juliet could be vexing, but when she was in a good mood she was quite the nice girl for all Max could say.

Shock was clearly visible on the other girls' face, but to Maxes' surprise she didn't dwell on the harsh reply, but instead was baffled by the fact that Max actually remembered her surname.

"Well, shit me not! Max, the spaced out rocker, actually does listen to people." Came the snidely remark, but somehow Max could tell that the girl was actually interested in telling her what was going on, as if she _needed_ someone to listen to her plight.

After a quick conversation with Juliet, a break-in into Victoria's room and a few rewinds later, Max had convinced Juliet to let the poor girl out of her room, as the reason behind the two friends fighting had proven to be Victoria giving them a hard time and trying to tear them apart over Juliet's boyfriend. Of course Max had proven it all to be a ruse and actually had chastised Juliet a bit for doubting her friend just because _Ms. I'm-too-good-for-all-of-you_ told her something that stirred her jealousy.

After the two girls had made up and Dana had a small conversation with Juliet about the whole affair, she quickly retrieved the flash drive, which had indeed been in Danas' room and set out to find its rightful owner.

' _A good deed a day or some junk like that, eh?_ ' she thought as she crossed the park heading towards the parking lot. Just as she passed by behind Alyssa she noticed out of the corner of the eye a football heading towards her. The muscle-memory clicked and without thinking she had kicked the football hard using a Muay Thai move, which sent the football right back at the one who threw it hitting the guy in question hard in the stomach.

"Had it coming fool." She mumbled as she looked at the young man gasping for breath as he held his hands over his stomach. She did not care to rewind. Not for some shit that others had truly deserved.

She was already near the parking lot when she heard agitated voices coming from the front of the gate to the main campus, which also led to the parking lot. As she came closer she could see Kate being yelled at by the security guard that had also asked her why she had been in the restroom when the fire alarms went off.

She didn't even hear what the security guard was yelling at the distressed girl. Without thinking she just pressed on and interrupted the guard rudely.

"Hey! Leave her alone! What is it with school security loving to bully girls who are already having a hard time? Are you enjoying this? Is this some sick turn on for you or what?" She was furious. This scene reminded her too much of her own misery in the first months after her mothers' death.

"Wha-? Now hold on, missy! I'm just trying to do my job here!" The security guard exclaimed, eyes wide with surprise at the open hostility in Maxes voice.

"No, you are not! It is your job to guard this fucking place and not yell at schoolgirls who are clearly between a rock and a hard place, bullying them into telling you whatever you want!" Max nearly shouted, her hands were balled to fists and before she realised she was standing right in front of the security guard.

"This is no-! You know? You are part of this problem and I will get to the bottom of this all! I will keep an eye on you!" with that the security guard quickly walked off. He had clearly not expected such aggressively from a girl of Maxes' stature even as she was wearing black and looked the part like someone who could dish out as much as she got on her plate.

"Thank you, Max! I think you really scared him off for once." Kate was looking a bit pale, but otherwise unharmed. "I have to go now, but I want you to know it really means something to me that you stood up for me."

"No probs, bible-girl. The offer with the 'tea' is still standing." Max answered when she had calmed down a bit. As Kate passed her and went on her own errands, Max resumed her way to the parking lot.

It didn't take long for her to find the place, but it took her a little longer to spot the young nerd leaning on a used dark-blue car. As she walked over to Warren she passed an old looking truck and curiosity go the better of her, when she saw a box of ' _Missing Person_ ' posters in a box in the back of the truck. They were the same posters she had seen all over the campus and the bus station.

' _Damn, if someone was only this dedicated to me someday_.' Max mused and shuddered a bit as she retracted her thoughts, ' _Well, the same level of dedication, less from the 'Missing Person' stuff though._ ' She had read what the posters said – Missing Person: Rachel Amber, 19 years old, last seen…, etc. At first she had not paid it any mind, but after a week and constantly finding new posters asking for any information regarding the whereabouts of the missing woman, she somehow had become attached to the case. It was not like she would go investigating or any stuff like that, but at least she would keep an eye open to any possible evidence that could be used to find that girl. She didn't know why exactly she had decided to do so, but the thought suck in her mind, that if she had known this girl, maybe they could have been friends.

' _She reminds me of Chloe a little bit. That sunny smile…_ ' she was still deep in her thoughts when a hand shot up in front of her, waving before her eyes.

"Earth to Max! Earth to Max! Can you hear us? Huston, we might have a problem here." It was Warren who teased her light-heartedly. Little did he know that Max was so shocked by the sudden appearance of her classmate out of the blue that she nearly would have punched him with one of her priced Muay Thai moves. One doesn't just win a junior championship by staying idle and thinking with one's brain. Much depends on reflexes and trained muscle-memory.

"Whoa there! W-Warren!" She stuttered a bit still shocked that she had fallen so deep into though as to not even notice that she had passed Warren and walked on not even looking at anything in particular. "Sorry. Didn't notice you back there. Well, I mean, I did notice you, but I kind of zoned out a bit…"

"Yeah, no problem, Max." he leaned in as if to give her a hug. She quickly stepped back a little and took out the flash drive she had borrowed holding it up to Warren.

"Oh! Yeah, thanks!" He took the flash drive, pocketed it quickly whilst rubbing his neck and looking very uncomfortable in his own skin. Still somehow they managed to get a conversation up and going. Max teased the teenage-man about the emo-vampire movies on the flash drive, but followed the conversation closely as to not sound too interested in the man himself as that could spark only new hopes in Warren and that was the last thing she needed now. Despite all of that she knew the nerdy guy could be good company and actually listened to people, so when the conversation shifted towards the more obscure movies, she tried to strike up another tone and talk about what she had experienced in Mr. Jeffersons class that day.

However, right as if on cue to prevent her from telling anything that happened, Nathan Prescott walked over the parking lot towards them.

"Max Caulfield, right? You are one of Jeffersons photo groupies. I know you like to take pictures, especially while hiding out in bathrooms." Nathan was practically yelling at her when he stood right before her. "You better tell me now exactly what you told the Principal!"

"Go to hell, dipshit! I will tell you precisely nothing!" Max growled back. "But maybe you will refrain from going into girls' bathrooms in the future, eh? Or go you actually like getting kicked in the balls?" Max couldn't refrain from grinning. Not for all the money in the world.

"You fucking-" Nathan started as he tried to grab Max by the throat, but Max being stronger and faster than most people gave her credit to be quickly reached up and caught his hands in hers using his momentum to spin him around and smash his head hard against Warrens car. It seemed it would leave a bruise. She let him go and wanted to start off as she heard him get up with an angry, incoherent shout. Before she could do anything Warren had already launched himself at Nathan and the two guys were wrestling on the ground.

Just as she was about to turn and give Nathan a good hiding the old truck pulled up to a full-stop next to her, nearly knocking her over.

As she regained her balance and turned over to see who the driver was, the blue-haired punk-rock-gal at the steering wheel exclaimed in disbelief: "Max?"

"Chloe?" Max asked dumbfound, as suddenly everything fell into place like the pieces of a puzzle and she finally recognised her old friend.

"You again!" Nathan shouted as he was getting away from Warren after punching the nerd hard in the face. He had not even taken a few steps as Warren launched himself gain at the other man.

"Come on, Max! Get in!" Chloe said as she opened the door of the truck and waved Max in. She didn't even wait for Max to close the door properly as she took off in high speed. All Max could see from the side-mirror was the security guard rushing towards the two struggling men while she and Chloe drove away.


	2. Chapter 2

**WARNING:**

 **All characters and the story upon which this fanfiction is based are property of Dontnod Entertainment and Square Enix. I don't own anything.**

 **As this is my first story to be published here, I will be happy about every reviews - both good and bad as only so I can know what I have to improve. :)**

 **Rated M for crude and strong language at times, violence and mature content in later chapters.**

* * *

-There and back again-

* * *

"Man, that bastard is seriously messed up. What a psycho! For fucks sake… Damn, it feels like this day never ends…" Max said leaning back against the pad of the seat. She felt exhausted already and it was not even late afternoon. Absentmindedly she looked out of the window before adding in a low, emotion laden voice: "Thank you, Chloe…"

The blue-haired girl looked a bit dumbfound as if Max had just said something she had wanted to say.

"Well, after five years you are still Max Caulfield." Chloe muttered slightly looking at the other girl from the corner of her eye.

"No shit, Sherlock." Max snorted immediately regretting the sarcastic remark and looking to the young woman who had been her friend since she could remember herself. "Sorry…"

"Don't give me the guilty face. At least pretend you're glad to see me." Chloe shot back with a little bit more anger in her voice than she had intended. To her surprise the girl with red-brown hair turned to her with an expression of such sadness that Chloe nearly hit the breaks out of shock.

"I am… I'm seriously glad to see you." Max answered her voice small and barely audible. To Chloe it looked like the other girl was holding something back, like there was a dam that the girl had built and desperately tried not to break. After a steadying breath, the sadness painted on Maxes' face slowly faded and a cheeky grin slowly spread around her lips.

"It makes perfect sense that I would run into you today, huh?" She smiled a little before turning back to the window watching the scenery roll by.

"Yeah, I guess it has been that kind of a day…" Chloe agreed voicing her answer slowly as if deep in thought about something. Max probably could guess at least one thing her long-time friend was probably thinking about. "So what did that freak want from you anyway?"

"That little bitch can go fuck himself sideways. And if he ever lays a finger on y-… on me I will break him so bad, he will wish he was never born!" there was anger in Maxes' voice and such aggression that Chloe could only look at her once best friend in silent shock completely missing the little stumble in her friends answer. 'Definitely not the quiet shy girl I remember or expected, if I had expected her to pop up back in my life anyways.' She mused before being yanked from her thoughts as Max continued.

"So how do you know that asshole Nathan?" Max asked.

"He's just another Arcadia asshole out there to make the world shittier for any living thing… Your friend did really take a beatdown for you there." Chloe quickly shifted the conversation in another direction growing uncomfortable about this specific issue.

"Warren? Well, I guess you could call him a friend, though acquaintance would probably describe it better. Still, I guess I owe him for letting me escape, even if it was not necessary. I had everything under control." Max sighed as she let her brain replay the whole thing in her mind's eye.

"Ouch! Taking into account that he _did_ throw himself at Nathan and got a good pommelling for you calling him _acquaintance_ does seem a bit harsh, don't you think?" Chloe teased sneaking a peek at the rocker-girl. Max snorted and smiled a little.

"Well, I guess I could call him a friend and think the debt erased. You know? Bring us the friend-acquaintance and erase the debt?" Max replied with a toothy grin. Chloe gave Max the ' _I-have-no-clue-what-you-are-talking-about_ ' look.

"BioShock Infinite much?" Max asked, but upon seeing the same quizzical look on Chloe's face decided to drop the issue. "Erm… forget it."

"Well, you're not the only one in debt, but you're already causing trouble." Chloe remarked nonchalantly.

"I guess I thought it would be quieter but then again, I was probably bound to stir some shit anyways sooner or later." Max muttered. "Feels damned weird to be back."

"So I take it Seattle sucked hard?" Chloe said teasingly trying to lighten the mood, but to her surprise utter silence filled the truck after that last comment for a while.

"It was lonely, that much is certain…" was all Max could bring herself to say without letting her emotions take a hold of her.

"How come? I thought you would fit right in with the art school hipsters." Chloe said looking out on the road ahead.

"Chloe… please, not now, alright?" Max pleaded, anger and sadness wrestling in her stomach over who should be in control of the barrage of sentences she wanted to utter. Chloe was stunned by how grim Maxes' voice had been and by the fact that she had actually pleaded with her not to dwell on the issue. A glance at her friend told her she had made a terrible choice by saying what she had.

"Damn… You certainly are not the Max I expected to see, well, that is if you had ever decided to come back to Arcadia that is." Chloe spoke up again trying to lift the mood while they drove on. If it were not for the fact that Max somehow found her comment funny and started to smile a little again, Chloe knew her tongue would have gotten her into an even bigger mess than before.

"Right back at you, punk-girl. I was expecting to find a golden-haired goddess walking along the beach of Arcadia bay, but you are like the epitome of Hipster Girls dot com." Max allowed herself to tease the blue-haired girl in retaliation.

"Smartass." Chloe replied with mock-anger while trying to supress the grin that was tugging on the corners of her mouth.

"That is the reason I am here – to be a smartass and teach the younglings the ancient art of smartassery." Max snorted.

"Oh, please! Everyone on the Council knows you came for the tutorship fee at the Blackwell Academy and the lovely looks of princess Arcadia." Chloe laughed aloud.

"How could I ever say no to the lovely princess Arcadia. She has such huge arguments in her favour!" Max exclaimed playing along and gesturing as if touching huge breasts. None of the girls could take it much longer and burst out in a fit of giggles.

"Sooo… you came back to Arcadia Bay for imaginary boobs and not your best friend?" Chloe decided to rub a bit salt in the wound. Shit, didn't she have every right to chastise Max at least a bit for abandoning her?

"Don't you think I'm happy to see you again, Chloe?" Max replied weakly not liking one bit where this was going. Before she could bite her tongue and think before speaking the mean comment had already left Chloe's mouth.

"No. Apparently you were completely fine with waiting five years without a call or even a text." The cat was out of the sack. There was no answer from Max. The young rocker-girl just simply looked out of the window. She looked broken and beaten by what Chloe had said. Silent tears were streaming down her face contorting the eyeliner she had put on. The look of hurt on Maxes' face, while she was biting on her lip, hugging herself tightly, was nothing Chloe had wanted. Yeah, she had wanted to _hurt_ Max and send her on a little guilt-trip but this was too much. This was not what she wanted. Despite being away for so long and vanishing form her life at a time she had needed her most, Max was still her friend. Her best friend since childhood. It did take a lot from her not to hit the brakes and make a full-stop in the middle of the road, but it was nearly too much.

"I didn't order my parents to move just to fuck you over, you know?" The hurt and anger in Maxes' voice nearly sent Chloe over the edge into an abyss of self-loathing. It should have been obvious that shit had hit the fan in Seattle for Max too judging by how much the shy little girl she remembered had changed. "I'm sorry that I left, okay? I-… I know it must have been hard for you…"

"How do you know? You weren't even here." Chloe cringed inwardly, but the moment she opened her mouth it seemed only something mean was coming out hurting her friend over and over again. "And now you are back in Arcadia Bay for nearly a month without even contacting me. 'Nuff said." ' _Bravo, Chloe! You are really a good friend! Stab the already wounded Max and make her suffer. Wow! Really, what a first class world-best-friend you are!_ ' Chloe screamed at herself in her head.

"Right! Like I wouldn't guilt-trip myself to near self-destruction over how much you must have hurt! Like I'd know how you looked like after all these years until today! Or wait! Like you tried to contact me throughout those five years yourself. Yeah, Chloe, what a wonderful friend I am, right? It's not in the least difficult to try and get your courage up so you can contact your best friend who might as well hate you and damn you to hell the first moment they hear your voice, right?" Max snarled the last part venom practically dripping from her voice. Before Chloe could respond Max had already rewound time and used the little extra time to compose herself a little. She didn't want to hurt her friend even if what she had said hurt her.

"Chloe, look… I wanted to contact you the minute I got here, but I didn't know if you still lived here or if you and Joyce had moved. Hell, I didn't even know how you looked like after these five years until today. I had no idea if I would even find you, not to mention if you would even talk to me if I found you…" Max said fighting for control over her emotions. The fact that she was still crying did not help in this regard.

"Yeah, sure. I bet you don't use those sad excuses around those fancy art teachers you have there at Blackwell, like Mr. Jefferson or such, so don't use them on me." Chloe snapped back. She looked pissed, but Max didn't know that her best friend for years was ready to slap herself for every snappy remark she made at her. She couldn't tell what Chloe thought and so she leaned back against the window in silent resignation.

Wiping her tears and the muddled lines of eyeliner from her cheeks, Maxes' gaze fell on her camera which had fallen out of her bag and now lay on the ground of the truck. She picked it up just to discover that the camera was broken. Again.

"What the flying fuck? You gotta be shitting me! Are you for cereal?!" The anger she had felt before was now back, up again and running an extra round in her brain. "That sonowabitch! I'm gonna break his god-damn legs!"

' _Wow! Someone is seriously pissed._ ' Chloe thought looking over to her frustrated friend. ' _Yeah, and know what? You are a reason for that too, moron!_ ' The other voice in her head shot back. She winced silently before turning a little towards Max.

"Wow. Haven't heard that one in a while…" She chided trying to strike up a new conversation. She knew she should apologize to Max for snapping at her, but this day was way too crazy and she felt safer with just putting it all away. She would apologize to Max. Eventually. Maybe. You know? She was still angry and hurt over Max leaving her regardless of the conversation a few moments ago and such things don't let themselves be forgotten so easily.

"What? ' _Flying fuck_ '?" Max sneered, but there was a hint of amusement in her reddened eyes. ' _Lucky me… Maybe I can mend this a bit after all._ ' Chloe thought.

"No, dumbass, ' _cereal_ '." She replied grinning slightly.

"Not everything changes, Chloe… Except my camera has officially taken a shit and died." Max responded still fuming over the broken camera. There was much she wanted to say, but the camera was a welcome distraction, so she decided better not to use her rewind powers. She didn't trust herself to be able to compose herself a second time for the conversation with Chloe.

"My step-douche has a boatload of tools. Maybe you can fix it at my place…" Chloe offered hoping against hope that Max would agree to this peace-offer.

"For this thing to work again, I would need very specific tiny tools." Max said absentmindedly.

"Nerd alert! My stepdad has a fully stocked garage and he basically is a tiny tool. So it should not be so hard to find everything you need." Chloe laughed a little at her own joke and earned a small smile from Max, who was only partially listening to what her friend said.

"Welcome home, Max." Chloe said before silence fell between the two of them again as they drove towards Chloe's house.

* * *

-Stoner-girl and Rocker-woman-

* * *

"Do you have any beer? I could seriously use some now." Max asked as soon as they walked in from the front door of the house. Nearly nothing in it had changed.

"Whoa! Did you just say what I heard or am I going nuts? It sounded very much like Mad Max wants some booze." Chloe said only partially joking. Maxes' question had really stopped her dead in her tracks causing Max to bump into the taller girl.

"Yeah. You heard me. The stuff they say is not for kids? Alcohol? Ring a bell? Don't tell me you got none. Wait! No way!" Max exclaimed with a mock-shock-expression, "The rough wanderer from the punk-badlands doesn't drink! Could that be true? And here I was thinking I had finally found an oasis in this stick-in-your-ass desert of a righteous society."

"Fridge, middle storage, on the left side." Chloe replied rolling her eyes. "Knock yourself out. No, wait. Don't. Bring me one too." She said as she walked up the stairs to her room.

"Ay-ay, Capt'n!" Max laughed a little going over to the fridge, which was in the exact same place she remembered. Somehow this reminded Max of the days when they would play the Pirates of Arcadia Bay and this memory oddly put her mind at peace. Well, at least a little. She quickly grabbed two beer-cans from the fridge and bound up the stairs after Chloe, who had left the door to her room open.

It was the same room she remembered, but now with much more of a punk-attire. Posters of barely clothed punk-girls and covers of various mags showing what probably were Chloe's favourite bands, as well as graffiti and Christmas-lights decorated the walls now. An upside down American flag hung next to Chloe's bed.

"It probably looks a bit different from what you remember, right, Mad Max?" Chloe said as Max came into the room and closed the door with her foot. Chloe was already sprawled on her bed.

"I like it. I'm more into stoner-rock and metal myself, but I would be lying if I said I don't have a soft side for the punk-side of rock. Plus, at least this is a cosy enough place to chill." Max said as she took in the view before her. She really did remember the room being completely different, but this new look practically screamed 'Chloe' making it instantly comfortable for Max, despite all that was behind and between them.

"Well, this is not really my 'chill-out zone'… Step-führer makes sure of that." Chloe said somewhat bitterly. "Put on some music while I medicate." She said pulling out a joint from wherever she had hidden it and lighting it up.

"Any music's fine?" Max asked strolling over to Chloe's desk where her laptop was set up and on _sleep mode_.

"There should be a CD somewhere. My laptop is not really good for streaming music and shit." Chloe answered absentmindedly.

' _Ok, Detective Caulfield in on the hunt for a CD now. But, I have to give it to her, blue-babe has style. I mean, look at the punk-stickers on the laptop! That is just so funky._ ' Max smiled as she looked over the desk, which was covered in junk and God-knows-what. She put Chloe's beer-can behind the laptop at an angle that you had to really stand close to see it, so if anyone would come in at least they wouldn't detect the beer immediately.

As Max looked over Chloe's room searching for the CD or actually any CD, taking her sweet time and rewinding a bit back here and there just to get a better look on everything, a few items and pictures from the ' _old days_ ' caught her eye and made her dwell on the thoughts of how much _had_ changed. Some of the new things caught her eye too and for one moment she enjoyed the search and opened the drawer of Chloe's wardrobe just to see if the punk-girl would mix her punk-style with some not-so-punk lingerie. She quickly dismissed the thought however and continued the search for ' _the one CD to rule them all_ ' as there were more shirts and jeans in the wardrobe than anything else and she didn't want to go digging too deep.

She had seen a few of Chloe's pictures and a few postcards from Rachel Amber in Chloe's room as to guess they had been friends. Close friends even, as Max corrected herself, when she finally realised those were the ' _Missing Person_ ' posters on Chloe's desk and not just some picked-up flyers. ' _So Chloe had been the one dedicated to find this Rachel girl._ ' Max thought somehow feeling oddly jealous at a girl she didn't even know at that moment. ' _She just moved on and found a friend, Maximus, and so did you. It just appears none of us had any real luck with it…_ '

Only then she noticed she had kicked a small metal crate lying beneath Chloe's bed, as had walked over to take a closer look on the ' _Missing Person_ ' posters again. ' _Well, hello there, puppet! If it isn't a treasure grove with hopefully a CD in it?_ ' Max thought bringing her mind back on track for the task at hand, or foot in this case. She threw the beer-can in the trash as she had already finished it whilst walking around Chloe's room.

She knelt down and opened the box somewhat gingerly as she didn't know if she was really allowed to do so, but Chloe seemed to immersed in getting a kick out of the pot she smocked.

' _What's in the booox?_ ' Max smiled to herself as she quoted one of her favourite movies in her mind. ' _And voila! A CD! Finally._ ' Her smile disappeared as quickly as it had rested on her face. As she had taken out the CD, she noticed the picture of Rachel Amber in the box. She looked pretty. Curiosity got the better of her and she picked up the photo just to discover that it had been folded in half. The other half depicted Chloe showing the camera an upheld finger. Despite the serious look on Chloe's face in that photo Max could tell – she had been happy at that time.

"Hey, give that back!" Chloe snapped at her as she quickly snatched the photo from Maxes' hands.

"Sorry, didn't want to be nosy. It just looked like a beautiful picture and… well, you two obviously were good friends…" Max stumbled for an answer now being very uncomfortable with the whole situation and thinking about rewinding to erase this whole embarrassing scene. But to her surprise there was no out-burst from Chloe's side. She put the picture away and placed her head in her hands.

"That's putting it mildly." She intoned as Max made to sit next to her once BFF. Chloe looked miserable.

"That's Rachel Amber, right? Her ' _Missing Person_ ' posters are all over Blackhell… er… Blackwell." Max asked. She knew who the girl was, after all – she had read the info on the posters, but this was an opportunity to learn more and maybe to somehow help her once-best friend.

"Yeah, I put them up… She-… She was my angel, Max. After dad died and you moved, I felt abandoned." Chloe answered in a small voice. Maxes' stomach turned at this point. Memories of her own past experiences floated up in her mind. "She saved my life."

"I had no idea…" Max mumbled weakly as she tried desperately to shut down the memories of all the things that had happened to her in Seattle after her mom died.

"Well, you never made much of an effort to find out." Chloe continued unaware of Maxes' own issues. She was too deep in thought to register the emotions playing in Maxes' eyes. "I was fourteen and we were best friends."

"I never forgot you, Chloe. God knows how much I wanted to contact you and didn't do it in the end fearing you might hate me… At least you had Rachel…" Max said as she looked over to the young woman sitting next to her. She didn't know what to say, how much to say. She and Chloe had been even closer to twins at one point, but now? With all the emotions raging in her and the memories making it harder not to just let loose and lay everything on Chloe right now, she decided it was best to keep quiet and listen to Chloe first.

"Rachel had my back. We were gonna kick the worlds' ass." Chloe went on, "You probably would have laughed at how different we were. She wanted to be a star. A model, you know? That was her plan. Our plan. Ditch Kickapoo and move to Los Angeles."

"Did your folks-… I mean, did your mom try to stop you?" Max asked slightly zoning out as one particularly painful memory came to her mind.

"Mom was too busy hooking up with Sergeant Shithead…" Chloe said with venom dipping from every word.

"Love and rainbows and shit, yeah, I can see that…" Max replied hoping she had not put the other girl off by being so sarcastic. "Now, when did Rachel actually disappear?"

"Six month ago. She just… left Arcadia. Without a word. Without… me." The disbelief and hurt in Chloe's words hit something in Max. And hit her hard.

"How do you know she disappeared? Maybe she wanted to start a new life…" At this point Max was seriously fighting the urge to kick something.

"Unlike you, she would have told me, ok? Something happened to her." Chloe answered angrily not looking at Max.

At this point Max just stood and walked over to the desk where she had put Chloe's beer can, opened it and downed it in one go before throwing the empty can to the other trash.

"Wow… so that happened." Chloe said as she watched the other girls' doings. Max just looked at her hoping her face didn't reveal too much as she was fairly unsure if this was the right moment for telling Chloe all about her own life.

"I believe you. And I understand you better than you might think. Just want to get all deductive…" Max offered, hoping it would clear the quizzical look from the blue-nettes face.

"Before she left, Rachel said she had met someone who changed her life and then… poof." Chloe continued anger growing in her voice.

"Hah… I've heard that phrase before… But back on track. Guess you didn't hear anything from her since?" Max snorted disdainfully as she remembered having heard nearly the exact same words last year.

"Like everybody in my life… My dad, you… now Rachel. Gone… Can you put on some music now?" Chloe said looking miserable as she tried to shift the conversation.

"Sure." Max pressed her lips together as to not shoot back with heavy artillery and start an argument with the already pitiful-looking Chloe. She was surprised that the music on the CD was way more quiet and slow-paced as she had expected. She didn't recognise it but she didn't dislike it too.

"Anyways… there should be everything in the garage you might need to fix your camera." Chloe said as she laid back on her bed lighting up again the joint she had not finished.

"Chloe… You sure you're ok?" Max asked already putting one earbud in and getting her phone out of her pocket.

"Yeah. Sure. I'm awesome. Just wanna blaze and be alone for a moment…" The girl on the bed replied not even looking at Max.

"Right… I know that feeling." Max said before putting in the other earbud and switching on the music to a level she could probably stand next to a canon and would not hear it being fired.

' _What you want. What you lost. What you had. What is gone is over! What you've got. What you love. What you need. What you have is real! It's not enough!_ ' she heard Raine Maida singing the only song she liked from the band _Our Lady Peace_ as she walked down the stairs.

' _Yeah, ok. Moving on. This one's not so good for lifting my mood now_.' Max thought before hitting the ' _shuffle-list_ ' button. On came ' _The Outsider_ ' from _A Perfect Circle_. ' _Heh… yeah, more fitting the situation. Not lifting my mood, but definitely fitting._ '

Much of what she saw in the house reminded her of the times she had spent there. This had been like a second home to her. How could things change so much? As she walked in the garage she was surprised at how organised everything was. She found the tools she needed after looking all over the garage. The place was too stuffed. Organised, but still stuffed – monitors showing the house, photos of Chloe's stepfather and Chloe's mom. One of them was even signed by both of them – David and Joyce. ' _How fucking nice._ ' Max thought sarcastically. The fact that Chloe's stepdad was the security guard at Blackwell didn't sit all too well with her and neither did the fact that there were monitors in the garage with what seemed like surveillance footage of Chloe's house. She saw also some pictures of him in an army uniform, but didn't really give it a thought. This was becoming way too uncomfortable for her liking. Just as she was to turn for the door something caught her eye. It was a pile of envelopes stacked on one of the shelves. She had not intended to really go through someone's private things, but curiosity got the better of her. Despite every shitty thing she had experienced in the years after her moms' death, Max was still at times full of curiosity and this was definitely one of these times.

As she reached out one of the sloppily stacked envelopes fell to the floor and some photos fell out of it. They showed Kate and seemed to be taken from either security camera-footage or made in secret. Some of them had something scribbled on them, like 'She knows something!' or such.

' _Ok, fuck that. Creepy as hell. Gotta look out for the weak, Rocker-woman, and give this asshole some serious shit to think about so that he leaves her alone._ ' Max thought angrily, before rewinding a bit so that it was that she had never even tried to see what was in the envelopes.

She quickly made her way back to Chloe's room where she had left her bag and her camera all the while stewing what she could do to get this security-creep of Kate's back.

She nearly kicked the doors to Chloe's room open but caught herself in the last moment and made herself take a few deep breaths before entering. This was not her home after all and she didn't want to be responsible if step-creep had a fight with Chloe over a broken door. Plus she didn't want to anger Chloe by venting her aggressions against her door.

"Got the tools? Sweet. You can sit at my desk and fix your camera." Chloe said as Max walked into the room. Max had not really heard what Chloe said over the music still playing on her phone, but she caught the gist of it and went for her camera after which she settled at the desk and started repairing the broken thing.

After a while and even a few rewinds in order to try different approaches Max let the tools drop on the desk and placed one hand on her face before sighing in exasperation. At this Chloe got off the bed and walked over to Max.

"So? Any luck?" She asked putting her ashtray on the desk.

"Can't fix this fucking piece of shit!" Max replied angrily.

' _Ok, Chloe. Try to be nice for once. Max looks like she could murder somebody right now and you certainly did add your batch to making her so_.' Chloe thought as she walked over to the other side of the desk before trying to lighten Maxes' mood by striking up a conversation. Problem was she just didn't know how to start the conversation and what she could say to make up for at least part of what she had said to the woman sitting at her desk. ' _For God's sake, Chloe, you made her cry and then laid on her you own emotions. Think!_ ' As if giving her a clue her gaze fell on the few photos which Max had apparently packed out of her bag along with the camera.

"Are those yours?" She asked. ' _Wow! Point for asking the obvious, Captain Price._ '

"Yeah, just took them today…" Max replied with a groan still looking pissed at the camera, which wouldn't allow itself to be fixed.

"Lemme see." Chloe said, before snatching up a picture. Surprisingly it was one of a blue butterfly. Had there not been a blue butterfly in the girl's restroom at Blackwell, when she had been there today?

"Wait… I've seen this before. No way! When did you take this?" Chloe asked surprised, when the memory finally clicked in place. "You took this photo! In the bathroom today. You set of the fire alarm, didn't you? I thought I had heard something crash… That is why Nathan was raging after you, isn't it? It totally makes sense now."

"Yeah, I was there hiding in the corner." Max said a bit more angrily than she had intended, but if Chloe was going to complain about her saving her life, well then ' _Fuck you very much!_ '.

"You hella saved my life!" Chloe exclaimed excitedly and a smile formed on her face. "You're like a ninja!"

"Yeah, right. If Muay Thai was something for ninjas, then sure. But I was a ninja, I would have cut off Nathans hands and handed him his ass." Max rolled her eyes at the other girl, but smiled back nonetheless. Chloe had still the same effect on her – she just couldn't stay angry at her for long.

"Muay Thai? What? You know Muay Thai? That is so badass! That _was_ so badass back there in the restroom." Chloe continued not really paying any mind to Max being a bit sarcastic.

"Sure. Whatever. I could have kicked his head in if it wasn't for the gun." Maxes' expression darkened a bit at the memory of Chloe dying once because of that gun. "Man, still gonna fuck this fuckhead up for good." She added violently.

"Damn. Someone has anger issues… So did you recognize me?" Chloe asked trying to bring the conversation back on the original line and not let Max dwell on anything she might think about.

"Not at all, though I have to say, I like your new style. The colour of your hair and your whole look just scream ' _Don't mess with me._ ' Then again it is completely different from what I expected." Max grinned at her and unwillingly Chloe made a mental note ' _Score for Punker-girl_ '.

"Hope so, but the compliment is appreciated, rocker-girl. Must be weird for you after coming back, huh?" Chloe grinned back. "You seem to have had a change of attire yourself and I can say – it suits you. Never would have thought you to be a person to get a nose-piercing though…"

"Yeah… It just is this kind of day." Max answered her look drifting out to the window. She didn't want to start the conversation about her own experiences with Chloe just yet. Luckily the other girl seemed too concerned with the situation in the restroom than anything else.

"So you must have overheard our conversation back there…" Chloe started. "There is no way you didn't hear every single vowel."

"Actually there is." Max grinned at that point again focusing on the woman standing before her. "Was too fascinated by the badass blue-chick to really listen to what was said." The confusion on Chloe's face was enough to send Max into a fit of giggles, but she quickly rewound time and just smiled at Chloe when she stated her question.

"Ok, I'll take it as a yes. So? Did you tell anybody?" Chloe asked shifting nervously and crossing her arms.

"Well, duuh? The fucker pulled a fucking gun on you!" Max had to hold herself back so she wouldn't sound all too sarcastic.

"That bastard… So, who did you tell?" Chloe inquired.

"The principal, but that fucktard didn't believe me. Prescotts probably bought him too. Like the fuck there is one person in Arcadia with a set of normal morals." Max thought it was disgusting as the remembered the principal trying to convince himself that nothing hd happened.

"You bet. He only cares about money for the academy. Don't trust him." Chloe said with anger in her voice.

"Yeah, have no intentions to do. Next time I see something like that, I might as well really pull a knife on the fucker." Max replied just as angrily as Chloe. "I didn't mention you, by the way, if that is what you're concerned about."

"Thank God… I'll tell you more someday, and I seriously owe you, Max." Chloe admitted before turning and starting to search for something in one of the shelves beneath the radio.

"I, er, know it was your birthday last month so… this was my dad's camera and I want you to have it." Chloe continued taking the camera from the place she had put it and turning to Max.

"I can't take this, Chloe, although it is sweet that you remembered my birthday." Maxes' reply and the quizzical look on her face prompted Chloe to push on. She wanted to make at least some amends for what she had said and for her attitude towards her once best friend. And if the price was to give away a thing her real father had used – so be it.

"Of course you can. My dad would've been pissed if I never used it, so…" Chloe interrupted Max by pushing the camera into Maxes' hands, "Now at least it will be used awesomely. And I'll snag this picture as a symbol of our reunion. Cool?" She said picking up the polaroid picturing the blue butterfly. She smiled when she saw a smile form on Maxes' face.

"Sure. Thanks! This camera is so sweet." Max seemed to have completely forgotten her own broken camera and was focusing intently on the one Chloe had given her as if it was the most beautiful thing in the world to receive.

"So, mushy shit is out of the way. I feel like stage diving now!" Chloe exclaimed feeling pretty good for having lifted her friends' mood. ' _Damn right! She is my friend. Even after all these years._ ' She thought as she put on ' _Every you every me_ ' from Placebo. "Let's thrash this place."

"Haha! You sure are crazy, Blue!" Max laughed as she put the camera on the desk next to her old one.

"Yep yep. I'm fucking insane in the brain! Let's dance. Now shake that bony white ass!" Chloe chided as she took Maxes' arms and started to dance. "Or take my picture with your new camera." She added while stepping on her bed. She had no idea why she said it, but she somehow hoped Max would take the picture.

"You bet I will!" Max laughed as she picked up the camera and angled it so as to get a better shot at the subject in the centre of her attention. She took the picture and set the camera aside, before climbing on to the bed where Chloe was rocking out. "Now make way for the Queen of rock!" She laughed and started to dance.

"That's what I'm talking about!" Chloe laughed too. This was definitely better than the sullen mood from before.

* * *

-Max and Chloe against the world?-

* * *

"Chloe, are you up there?" suddenly a male voice inclined as a loud thud from the front-door closing was heard.

"Shit. Turn it off. Turn it off!" Chloe said hurriedly prompting Max to leap from the bed and run over to the radio, which she shut down immediately.

"How many times have I told you to stop blasting that punk shit?" the voice said angrily, this time sounding to come closer. "Anyways, I'm coming up! We need to talk!"

"Fuck! You need to hide! Now! If my stepdad sees you here, he'll kill me!" Chloe became somewhat frantic as she quickly threw the beer-cans under her bed. Max got quickly into the closet and closed the door behind her, watching the scenery before her unfold from her hiding place.

As Chloe's stepfather entered the room it was clearly visible that he was not happy to have this conversation with Chloe, but refrained from any comments.

"One of my guns is missing." He simply stated not looking at Chloe. "Did you take it?"

"Oh my God! I didn't take your stupid gun! You do know I believe in gun control?" Chloe answered rolling her eyes as if to say ' _not this shit again_ '. ' _She probably has the gun._ ' Max thought and couldn't help herself as a grin appeared on her face. ' _Stonergirl has some guts._ '

"Wait! Is that grass? You've been smoking again in here?!" David seemed positively furious.

"Yeah, sure! Guns, weed? You seriously are tripping balls right here!" Chloe shot back just as angrily.

"I'm sick of your disrespect. Tell me the truth. That is an order. Whose is it then?" ' _Stepshit doesn't give in easily, huh?_ ' Max thought. Before she could decide whether to step in or stay hidden as Chloe had instructed her the two went at it again.

"Hey! Stop treating me and my mom like your personal family platoon!" The anger in Chloe's voice was real and not just played like before.

"Leave Joyce out of this!" Her stepfather seemed to be taken aback by the angry reply and seemed to certainly not want this to get out of hand, but Chloe wasn't one to back down too.

"I wish you would leave Joyce. Like now." She yelled and went to push her stepdad out of the room, but before she even reached him and before he could completely register his own actions, her stepfather had slapped her in the face. He looked shocked by what had just happened.

"Chloe… I'm sorry. I do really care about your mother and… You just keep pushing me." He said, before walking out of the room clearly not wanting to continue the conversation.

' _Ok, that wen south very fast. We can do better, can't we, SuperMax?_ ' Max thought angrily. It was one thing to watch the whole situation and laugh at the shit Chloe was trying to feed her stepfather, but it was a completely different thing to see Chloe get backhanded. Back in the truck she had wanted to do just the exact thing at one point, but after all that she had heard from Chloe, she couldn't manage to stay angry at the other girl. ' _She_ is _my friend after all… even if she possibly doesn't think so._ ' She rewound to the point where Chloe's stepdad was asking about the weed and stepped out of the closet.

"It's mine, dipshit." She said, her eyes blazing with anger. "And before you jump to conclusions, it is on prescription. I need it for my nerves. Having social anxiety disorder, anger issues and trauma from having had a near-death experience can be a fucking lot to take. So if you wouldn't mind, give me back my medicine before I get a panic attack or try to break something." She had quickly covered the short distance from the closet to the surprised man and yanked the half-smoked joint from his hand.

"Well, well. If it isn't the new punk from Blackwell - Max Caulfield." He regained his composure and now was clearly focused on Max. "I don't like strangers in my house. Especially dopers. You bring drugs into my house. Legal or not, and we can check that by the way. I'm sick of you losers dragging Chloe down. What got nothing smart to say now? This afternoon you seemed more than capable of speaking." He said looming over the short girl. Had he tried to poke Max, she didn't know if she would have been able to hold back and not try breaking his leg, arm or jaw with some of her Muay Thai moves. ' _Wouldn't be the first time I break someone's bones._ ' The thought of handing the man his own ass was kind of appealing and Max was starting to wonder if she actually shouldn't just do so.

"Get the hell away from her, man! Stop harassing my friends!" Chloe stepped in and tried to push the man away from where he was standing.

"You don't have any friends!" David said.

"Like you would know. You're not even a real cop. You're just a security guard!" Chloe shot back now standing beside Max.

"I was a soldier, Chloe. And you Max... If I see you here again, you'll learn wat real trouble is." Chloe's stepfather said and walked out of the room feeling slightly defeated. ' _Yeah? Try me._ ' Max thought, but refrained from saying it out loud. She didn't know what David would or could do, but she was sure as hell that she would probably break his arms in the outcome. As soon as David had left and Chloe had closed the door, she turned to Max.

"That was badass!" She exclaimed. "And because you are such a badass, I'm gonna show you my new toy." She grinned and went for another box under her bed.

"I so fucking knew it!" Max snorted. "You really are a handful, you know that?" She just laughed as Chloe pulled out a gun and stated ' _I'm Price. Chloe Price. Bang!_ '. "But you seriously should put that thing away – hide it. I don't think it would be wise to hold on to the missing gun, while your stepdad is looking for it." She said still grinning. "And so much for the 'I believe in gun control'- crap."

"Yeah, I believe I should control the gun. It's the men who should be checked." Chloe said as she put the gun away and hid the box beneath her bed again.

"Anyways – thanks for taking the heat. We totally beat his ass there." She went on turning back to Max. "He's no match for the combined power of us two now… That was an epic win."

"Yeah, right. Didn't even have to lie really… Well, ok, I don't need weed for my nerves, but it's not so bad." Max grinned. Before Chloe could react though, Max continued. "Anyways, seems that taking the stairs is a no go for me now."

"We can sneak out the window… There is actually a really cool place we can hang in this hickhole." Chloe said getting up from her bed.

"Ok. Let's bail." Came the short reply from Max, who already had picked up her things, moved the chair from the desk and was now opening the window.

* * *

-Are you afraid of me now?-

* * *

It had taken them a while to drive to the lighthouse overlooking the small town from the cliff, but it sure was worth it. The look was stunning and it very much reminded Max of the days they had been kids, but for Max it now had also another meaning.

'It's the exact same path I walked in my nightmare back in Jeffer-creeps class.' She realized. 'And that fucking lighthouse fell on me.' The though somewhat dampened her mood. Nevertheless she walked behind Chloe to the bench near the lighthouse from where one could see the whole town. The other girl hadn't really waited for Max and already sat comfortably.

' _One photo coming up hot!_ ' Max smiled as she saw the opportunity to take a second picture with her new camera. She crouched down behind the young woman sitting on the bench and angled the camera in a way it would best capture the light of the setting sun falling on the short-cut blue hair of the woman before her. ' _Seems something about still going to all those photography classes did get stuck in my brain after all._ ' Taking pictures had been her hobby and passion once, but now? Now it seemed to depend on the object or subject in before her lens if she would lift a finger to get her camera out and take the shot. ' _Well, Chloe is a good model. At least when it comes to my tastes._ ' She grinned. Chloe was Chloe regardless of how much she had changed, but the new look definitely was something Max liked.

"Sure you don't wanna be alone?" She asked the blue-haired girl when she saw the sadness painted on her face after going around the bench to sit next to her.

"Take a seat, Pete." Chloe said still looking out at the town, but somewhat slightly more amused.

"My pleasure." Max replied before unceremoniously dropping herself next to the young woman on the bench. "Mmm… Feels nice out here after all the shit that happened today."

"You really took one for Team Chloe back there." She heard the other girl say.

"Well, step-douche is a step-douche and how could I let my friend get manhandled by such a prick?" Max groaned a bit remembering the events from a little ago. "Damn, and you have to live with him. He even freaked out at Kate Marsh today. Poor girl's already having a hard time it seems and then he gets on her case."

"I know her. She's cool. Only he would bully her." Chloe said looking angry again. "Rambo still thinks he's gathering enemy intelligence judging by the whole lot of secret files he has."

"Seems to have some kind of secret agenda. That asshole even had pictures of Kate Marsh back there with weird comments scribbled on them" Max replied. She sure as hell could see why Chloe hated her stepdad's guts.

"He is a total surveillance fetish. I constantly get the creeps thinking if there are any hidden spy cameras in the house." Chloe shuddered a bit.

"There certainly are. Funny you didn't know about it already." Max raised one brow at her friend.

"What are you talking about?" Chloe asked her voice showing worry and anger mixed with a big portion of bewilderment.

"When I was in the garage I saw it on one of the monitors David has installed there. I looked for the tools, but the monitors caught my attention for a bit. They clearly showed surveillance footage from your house. Judging by what the monitors showed he must have cameras all over the house." Max explained though the anger showing on Chloe's face made her think if it wouldn't be wiser to rewind and not tell Chloe.

"I knew it! He's so hella paranoid!" Chloe was practically bristling with anger. "I'll keep this a secret though for now. But no wonder I'm so miserable! Everybody in this fucking town knows everybody's secrets."

"So what is Nathan's?" Max asked unsure if she wanted to actually know, but maybe she could use whatever Chloe could tell her to get that prick to bugger off.

"He's an elite asshole who sells bad shit cut with laxatives. And he dosed me with some drug in his room." Chloe replied.

"Wait, what?! What did the fucker do? God damn, I swear I will cut his fucking head off!" Max exploded at that and meant what she said. She hadn't come back to Arcadia only to let probably the only other person in her life who was like family to her to be mistreated. ' _Not on my watch! We might have a rough start with Chloe, but I'm not gonna sit idly while some shit happens to her!_ '

"I met him in some shithole bar that didn't card me." Chloe sighed, a bit concerned by Maxes' outburst and the pure hate showing on her face. "He was too rich for that place and too wasted. He kept flashing bills…"

"What happened, Chloe. Tell. Me. Now." Max punctuated every word, her hands balled to fists in her lap.

"I was an idiot. I though he was so blazes and it would be an easy score… I needed the money bad. Still need it. I owe big time, Max. And I thought I would have enough for me and Rachel if she showed up… We went to his room in Blackwell. We drank and I laughed about his rich kid bullshit. But he was one step ahead and put something in my beer. I know I passed out on the floor after that. When I woke up that pervert was crawling towards me with a camera smiling all the while. Everything was a blur… I tried to kick him in the balls, but broke a lamp instead. He freaked and I managed to bum rush the door and get the hell out of that place. Max, it was insane." Chloe hugged herself and looked close to breaking down at the memories. Without another word Max stood up and kicked the trash can, which stood a bit further away from the bench.

"That motherfucker!" She screamed letting the can fly, before picking it up and throwing it over the cliff. "He is so dead the next time I see him!" Doing all of that had not helped Max went her anger at all. "What did you do after that?" She turned on the stunned blue-nette.

"I-I figured I would make him pay me to keep quiet. So we met in the bathroom." Chloe stumbled there a bit shocked by the anger Max evinced.

"And he brought a freaking gun!" Max said her voice raspy as if the anger was choking her.

"That was Nathan's last mistake." Chloe said getting her composure back, trying to act strong as to make her friend calm down.

"He is so fucking dead…" Max sat back on the bench still fuming. "He is still dangerous and I can't be always there to protect you… Man, he is so dead!"

"You were here today, Max. You saved me and I'm still tripping on that…" Chloe replied with a small smile on her lips. This seemed to calm Max down a bit and so she continued. "Seeing you after all these years feels like…"

"Destiny?" Max snorted cocking an eyebrow at her friends amused tune. This however didn't have the effect she had hoped it would. Chloe's face immediately fell and she looked miserable again. Without thinking Max placed a hand on Chloe's shoulder and was about to hug her, when Chloe got up and walked over to the edge of the cliff. Leaving Max to either follow her or remain sitting. Of course Max followed. There were no two thoughts about that.

"If this is destiny, I hope we can find Rachel. I miss her, Max." Chloe said weakly before adding with anger back in her voice. "This shithole has taken everyone I've ever loved from me. I would so fucking drop a nuke on Arcadia and turn it to glass, if I had the chance!"

"Chloe-" Max started, but couldn't continue whatever she was about to say as a headache of monstrous proportions hit her making her stumble backwards. Everything went black before her eyes.

And then she was back in her nightmare.

Cursing under her breath Max made her way up the path to the lighthouse careful as to not get hit by the falling top of it. Everything happened as it already had. Everything was the same as before. Everything, except one detail.

"A newspaper page? What?" Max muttered as she picked up the newspaper page stuck on one of the posts marking the edge of the cliff. The wind and rain made it hard to read and over the sound of the tornado Max was not even sure she could hear her own thoughts as she looked for the date on the torn page. "October 11th? That is this Friday. That is only four days away! Holy fucking shit! This tornado will obliterate the whole town!"

Suddenly there was a hand on her shoulder and Max turned around in surprise. The world changed back to normal and there was Chloe standing with an expression of worry on her face. Sudden realization hit Max and at the thought her feet gave in beneath her making her fall to the ground. Chloe was there in the blink of an eye, catching Max in her arms and easing her down to the ground.

"Chloe! You're back. I'm back. Oh fuck! This is real. This is really happening. Oh my fucking God! This is so messed up!" She gasped for air feeling a tight knot form in her stomach.

"Max, what's going on? You totally blacked out there…" Chloe asked still holding onto Max. Max blacking out had her already worried, but how she was definitely freaked out with worry about her friend.

"I didn't black out! I had another nightmare or a vision… I saw the whole town get wiped out by a tornado!" Max said.

"Oregon gets about five tornados in about twenty years. You just zoned out." Chloe tried to calm the brown and red-haired woman down after having let go of her.

"No, no, no! I saw it! I could actually feel the electricity in the air and the rain on my skin! For fucks sake!" Max said more violently than intended and grabbed Chloe's hand. She needed something to hold onto right now.

"Ok, just take a breath, Max. Calm down." Chloe tried her best to sound reassuring taking her friends hands in her own.

"I'm not crazy, Chloe!" Max spoke up again. "Ah fuck! You are never gonna believe this, but I have to tell you something else too… Man, this is so messed up."

"Talk to me, Max." Chloe squeezed Maxes' hand as to show, she was still there with her and would listen to what the other girl had to say.

"I had the same vision earlier in class today… And then, when I woke up, I discovered I could rewind time. Like, I actually could reverse time and change things." Max said in a small voice, not sure if the other girl believed her or not. "Like I said – not crazy."

"But high, right?" Chloe tried to understand what her friend had just said and this was the only explanation she could come up with. ' _She is just super high on something…_ '

"Listen to me, damn it! How do you think I saved you in the bathroom?" Max said anger smouldering in her blue eyes. "I saw you get shot, Chloe! I saw you bleed out on the floor and die! I was able to go back and kick the fire alarm…"

"Ok, your look has changed, but I see on the inside you are a geek with a great imagination, but this isn't a video game or an anime. People don't have powers, Max." ' _She definitely is high! And this is getting scary._ '

"Would you just listen, Chloe! I don't know what I have, but I have it! Do you think this is not something that would shock me? I'm scared, okay?" Max was clearly angry at the blue-nette right now.

She didn't get an answer from the other woman, however, as big snowflakes started falling seemingly out of the blue.

"What the hell is this? It's like 80 degrees or something! How?" Chloe said surprised and stood up looking around at the falling snow.

"Climate change or a storm is coming." Max said in a grim voice, still a bit angry at the punk-girl before her, after getting up herself.

"Max? Start from the beginning. Tell me everything and I swear I will not doubt you this time." Chloe's words had a soothing effect on Max as she saw that the other girl had meant what she said after taking a long look at the worried expression on Chloe's face.

"Are you afraid of me now?" She gave the other girl a crooked smile. "Alright. Fine, but you better keep that promise." Max continued after taking a few deep steadying breaths, before beginning to tell Chloe everything anew.


	3. Chapter 3

**WARNING:**

 **All characters and the story upon which this fanfiction is based are property of Dontnod Entertainment and Square Enix. I don't own anything.**

 **As this is my first story to be published here, I will be happy about every reviews - both good and bad as only so I can know what I have to improve. :)**

 **Rated M for crude and strong language at times, violence and mature content in later chapters.**

* * *

-Over and over-

* * *

The next morning greeted Max with warm sunrays shining through the window of her room in the dorms falling right on her face. Grudgingly she opened her eyes and propped herself up in her bed. Her head was killing her.

' _Too much booze will do that to you._ ' She thought only now registering that the laptop was still opened on her desk playing some songs from _Three Days Grace_ on low volume. Had she not put it on _Beatsteaks_? And where the hell were her trousers?

' _Okay, really need to get your shit together, Max. No more alcohol this week!_ ' She chastised herself. ' _At least I'm not completely naked. Or covered in vomit…_ ' She had an old and slightly faded Metallica shirt on and the boxers she used as a pyjama. The blanket had fallen to the floor at some point as had the pillow, but there were no sign that the drunken woman had thrown up at some point. ' _I don't remember much of the evening though…_ '

As Max tried to get out of her bed she nearly stumbled over the closes and things thrown carelessly on the ground. ' _At least I know I still have one boot… now I only need to find the second one._ ' She thought as she rubbed her eyes and kicked the boot in question out of her way to the desk. After logging into her computer, she put on _Believers in Medicine_ from _Rainbows are Free_ and cranked up the volume. ' _Screw them if they say something about the volume! It's my medicine against the headache._ ' Max thought after looking at the clock in her laptop showing that it was only seven thirty. It may not be the best cure for a headache, but she knew herself well enough to know – loud metal and ice-cream were a combination that could clear her head in an hour or two. Aspirin and coffee would fasten the recovery, but listening to metal was a good start.

Knocking noises from her phone notified her that she had gotten two new messages. As she picked it up from under the pillow she saw that both were from Chloe.

'my head iz killin me, didn't think u up to strong stuff' read the first one making Max cringe a little. ' _What did we drink? I can remember I had a few beers, but afterwards it's a bit of a blur_.'

'anyways – u there mad max' was the other.

'Don't recall drinking that much, but like I said: Always for you :P ;)' Max typed and hit the send button. She didn't supress the smile spreading on her face. Yesterday had been all kinds of fucked up, but what she remembered from the evening before was good enough. They had talked and drank long into the night sneaking into Chloe's room through the window once or twice to get something Chloe had forgotten. They had also hit the store a few times, but she couldn't recall going to a bar or something, which meant they had bought or gotten heavier stuff from somewhere else. How she had gotten to her dorms she didn't know.

'NO EMOJI!' came the reply from her friend. ' _Yeah, we're friends again_.' Max smiled to herself. It had taken quite a bit of talking about all that happened yesterday, but somehow it all had brought them closer and they had declared ' _Friends forever once more!_ ' at some point, before smoking some weed Chloe had stashed away. Yeah, that had been it, why they had returned to Chloe's house, or wasn't it? Max couldn't recall even if her life depended on it. The only thing she knew for certain is she had somehow avoided to spill the beans on Chloe about her mom's death and all of her own misadventures that had followed. She would tell Chloe at some point, but yesterday evening it had been more important to get the blue haired girl to believe in Maxes' words and to listen about the visions she had had.

':(' was the only thing Max sent as a reply still grinning at her phone and waiting for the other girl to answer.

'meet u at the dinner in 40' ' _Right, we had decided to go get breakfast at the dinner Joyce was working at. Damn, she still works in the same place from five years ago._ '

'I'll be there' she texted now really feeling the need for a shower.

'do not be late or I'll know time is not on your side and don't get high like in my room' "I wasn't that stoned! Drunk more likely! And we only crashed there for a few minutes anyways!" Max said aloud a little bit of mock-anger in her voice. "Or wait… were we there back again later? Damn girl, less alcohol. Definitely less alcohol!"

'On my way, punk-queen' She typed in as she picked up the things she needed to freshen herself up.

'u r EVIL; 40 minutes or else' Chloe's message brought the smile back to Maxes' face.

'Yeah right. You talking to a Muay Thai Champion, girl. I can totally hand you your ass if I wanted to :P' she sent the answer and put the phone on her bed. One sweeping look at the room filled in some gaps in her memory. The scattered notes and papers on the floor showed the results of her efforts to somehow put everything she knew about her powers to paper and come up with an answer. She didn't know however at what time she had made the notes. Her open scrapbook which was carelessly tossed on the desk showed what she had written about her friend. ' _Damn straight!_ ' She smiled as she read, what her drunken self had written about Chloe. 'Love the blue hair. Makes me want to sing ' _Over and over_ ' from _Three Days Grace_.'

"Time to make yourself presentable, girl-scout." Max sighed as she walked out of her room and closed the door behind her. The thought about getting ready to hit the road were interrupted as she entered the bathroom at the end of the hallway, where a thoroughly distressed Kate Marsh was standing before the mirror and looking like she had been crying the whole night.

"Hey, Bible-girl! How are you doing?" Max asked, trying to sound up-beat and gave the other girl a reassuring smile as she turned to Max.

"I'm still here… Thanks again for standing up for me yesterday. I really needed that." Kate replied with a small smile.

"Anytime. That guy has issues, but seriously – they give you shit and I'll break them!" Max said flexing her muscles in a mock-posture of the bodybuilders she had seen showing off in the gym back in Seattle. This made Kate's smile widen a bit.

"Doesn't everybody here? Anyways – do you still have my copy of 'The October Country'?" Kate said quickly changing the topic.

"Of course. 'tis great so far. Wasn't sure I'd like it, but it is really great. Never knew Bradbury was such a poet." Max exclaimed. If Kate wanted to drop the issue, than Max would let her, but she would still look out for the girl.

"Could you please bring it back to my room this morning? I just need to take some notes for the classes." Kate continued.

"Sure thing. I'll just shower quickly and bring it to you before I go to the Two Whales." Max answered jabbing a thumb in the direction of the showers, before turning, undressing and getting into the shower.

Just as Max was showering she heard the door opening and the unmistakable voice of Victoria droned in.

"That video of you clubbing didn't look like you were doing homework, Kate." Victoria said mocking the shy and dedicated girl.

"Victoria, that wasn't me…" Kate replied weakly.

"Don't be shy. I think it's awesome you set a tongue record on video." Victoria continued to bear down on the poor girl.

"You are going to be sorry someday." Kate said, with tears in her eyes, before she turned and walked out of the bathroom. 'Damn right, Kate. And I'll make them!' Max thought angrily wanting nothing more than to beat the girl left standing in the bathroom. It was only then she registered that Taylor, one of Victoria's cronies was there too. It didn't really matter. She would make sure Taylor got her fair share in beating too.

"Oh boo-hoo. I'm sorry you're a virtual slut. I'm sure she had fun. I know Nathan hooked her up and he has the good shit." Victoria turned to Taylor after the door had closed behind Kate. Max turned off the water and towelled herself quickly, before putting on her boxers and shirt. She wasn't really thinking straight as she felt still a little hung-over from yesterday and was fuming at the two girls who looked startled as Max got out of the shower-cabin and walked over to them.

"Oh, if it isn't Miss I-like-to-stick-my-nose-in-other-peoples-lives." Victoria exclaimed, trying to regain her composure. She didn't see the blow coming and was clearly shocked at the violence Max put on display. Max had made a single jab at the girls' stomach making her double over and ring for air.

"You bitch! You put Kate through all of this!" Max hissed as she grabbed Victoria by the hair and pulled her face upwards so as to look Max directly in the face. "You knew about the reason for her misery all along and what do you do? You use every opportunity to make her life a nightmare! I swear this – if I see you giving Kate any shit or if she hurts herself over this, I will make you wish you were never even born!" She spat at the beaten woman before her before letting go of her hair. "And if you try to go to the principal or get back at me, try it! Don't think I don't have dirt on you that I couldn't use to get out of the situation. You know what? Actually do try and get back at me. You do that and I promise you I will break only half of the bones in your body so you can watch the world move on not giving a shit about the vegetable you will have become by then." Before she picked up her stuff she turned to the other stunned girl standing with her hands covering her mouth. "As for you, Taylor. Don't think I will spare you the same treatment just because you are Victoria's side-bitch. And now scram before I make good on my words right here, right now."

Taylor helped Victoria to get up and the two of them quickly ran out of the bathroom shock still painted on their faces. Max could have rewound and handled the situation differently, but she knew she would have probably ended up doing either the same or breaking one of the girls' legs on the spot if she had to hear their voices again talking about poor Kate. She knew her dad would probably hear about this, but he would plead with the principal on her behalf. He had done so once already before, in a different school though. He was a good father, who loved her more than the world even if she gave him a very hard time over the last three years. Max sighed and calmed herself a bit, before turning and leaving for her room. She expected that it would be trashed or that her white-board would be vandalised, when she would return form the Two Whales.

Back in her room she quickly put on some panties, got her black jeans on and slipped in one of her _Rammstein_ t-shirts, before putting on her leather jacket and putting on her boots after she found the missing one under her bed. She didn't put on any make-up. She was not in the mood and wanted to go over to Kate as soon as possible so she could try to convince the young woman not to pay any mind to the shitbags from earlier. She rummaged a little through her stuff before she found the book Kate had given to her, storing it in her bag and walked out of the room and locking it after closing the door. It didn't take long to walk over to Kate's room.

"Kate, are you in there?" Max asked after she had knocked for a third time on the door without receiving any answer.

"Yes. I'm here, Max. Come in." She heard the other girls' voice from behind the door. It was choked and weak as if the young woman was trying to hold back her sobs.

As she entered the clean and very organised room, she saw Kate hunched over at her desk having placed her head in her palms. She didn't even turn to look at Max, which worried Max even more.

As she walked over to Kate, she saw a postcard lying on the ground and picked it up. It was from Kate's father and was actually rather sweet taking into account the situation at hand. She placed it on Kate's desk next to the cage, where Kate's bunny slept.

She saw the drawings lying on the ground next to Kate's desk and it was clear to her, that the girl before her needed a strong arm to hold her above water right now. The skulls and nooses Kate had drawn reminded her of the time she had had a similar look on the world before her personality had changed and her anger had given her power to fight on. She put a hand on Kate's shoulder hoping it wouldn't startle the distraught girl.

"Hey, Kate. I brought your book…" Max started hoping that it would prompt the other girl to start a conversation with her.

"Max, why did you step in between David and me yesterday?" Kate asked, which somewhat caught Max off guard. She decided it was best to be honest with the upset woman.

"I hate bullies, Kate. You might not know that, but I had to deal with quite some heavy shit myself more often than I would like to admit, including bullies. I had no choice. I couldn't just stand idly and watch you get yelled at by that prick." Max answered.

"You had the choice to just look away, Max. Nobody here seems to care about anybody…" The religious girl replied weakly, but with some resentment in her voice, although Max assumed it was more directed at the others and not her.

"Look, listen, Kate! I actually do care. You are a sweet girl and I'll be damned if I wouldn't care about a friend in need." Max said. "So what's the story with you and David?"

"He's totally paranoid. Thinks I'm part of the Vortex Club, because he saw the video. Do you know how humiliating this is for me? Do you have any idea what my parents and relatives think about me now?" The girl sitting at the desk was near to tears again.

"I know this sucks hard, Kate, but if you could tell me, maybe I can help you." Max offered hoping she wasn't dealing with the frail girl too heavy-handeldy.

"Basically I went to the Vortex Club party and ended up making out with a bunch of people… and I have no memory of it…" Kate was crying now, prompting Max to duck down and hug the other girl, who let it happen, but didn't return the hug immediately.

"I believe you, Kate, but you have to tell me what happened at the party. Did you drink?" Max inquired easing away from the girl a bit so she could look her in the face.

"I swear to God, I had one sip of red wine and after that I drank water." Kate said through her sobs.

"That is hardly enough to get wasted. Did somebody drug you? Kate, it is important that you tell me." Max tried to shut down the anger boiling up in her. What asshole had done this to Kate? After hearing what Victoria had said, she suspected the worst - Nathan Prescott, but he could have been otherwise inwolved. Regardless, she would make sure to break that bastard before handing him over to the authorities.

"I remember getting sick and dizzy at one point. Nathan Prescott offered to bring me to the hospital. He was being nice for a change offering to help me." Kate said weakly. Maxes' eyes widened at Kate's words. ' _That bastard! He really did this, didn't he?_ '

"Go on. What next?" Max swallowed. She tried not to show the fury in her voice.

"I remember driving for a long time and then I woke up in a room. I thought I was at the hospital because it was so bright and white." Kate continued. "Somebody was talking to me in a soft voice. I thought it was a doctor…that is until I heard Nathan and felt a sharp pain in my neck and that is all I remember. I woke up outside my dorm room the next day. I didn't have any marks or bruises, but I felt gross."

"I'm here, Kate. And I swear that I'll find out what's going on and make them pay!" Max said barely able to resist the urge to just walk over to Nathans room and cripple the bastard. "Do you have any idea, who could have taken the video at the party?"

"I don't know. Probably Victoria. She was there being her mean self." Kate offered shaking her head. "Max, how do I take down a viral video? I know it's already spreading… What if my church sees it? I don't know what to do…" The girl broke down again.

"Kate, I'll figure this out. I won't let them hurt you anymore. If Victoria gives you any shit – any shit! – just call me and I'll break her spineless ass in half! I'll check back on you later, okay?" Max reassured Kate as good as she could a plan forming in her head how she could hurt Victoria and Nathan most for making Kate suffer all of this.

"Thanks, Max… Can you please put my book next to my bag?" The girl nodded wiping her eyes. Max did as she was asked before the other girl spoke up again. "So, Max, could I ask you a question? And, please, be honest." Max only nodded after turning to Kate, she didn't know how to answer less her voice betrays the rage boiling in her stomach.

"I need to find out if Nathan helped me… or hurt me after the party." Kate's voice was barely audible. "Should I go to the police?"

"Yes. You should definitely go to the police, Kate. I believe you. Nathan Prescott is a dangerous and vicious bastard. Trust me; I know that first-hand." Maxes' answer was more a growl than an actual sentence.

"Bless you, Max. I will go to the police and also Principal Wells. With you as my back-up witness they will have to take us seriously." Kate smiled weakly at Max, finally feeling a little bit more reassured.

"Hell yeah! And if Karma will not do her work on that bastard, I sure as hell will, regardless of his family's status and shit!" Max nodded her agreement, before giving the other girl a hug and getting on her way out of the girls' dorms and to the dinner.

* * *

-Sober-

* * *

As Max walked out of the dorms she put in her ear-buds and hit the play button on the music app in her phone. Up came _Sober_ from _Tool_. It was fitting her mood and her thoughts perfectly.

She was nearly out of the gates leading to the road, as Warren caught her attention by waving his hands while he leaned on one pole of the balcony of the boy's dorms, which were right next to the gates.

"What are you doing here, Warren?" Max tried to be polite and keep most of the venom out of her voice.

"Oh, nothing-waiting. For a call? I mean I already took the call… Anyway, I wanted to rap about that action yesterday." The young man blurted out making his statement sound more like a question and an excuse for waiting on Max than anything else. He had a swollen bruise over his right eye.

"Right! Thanks, cowboy. You really took a beating there for me. I owe you. I mean, I could have handled that bastard myself, but your help is appreciated." Max hoped this was a good enough answer to get the young man off her back. He was sweet enough but as she was more into the fairer sex and hadn't really any interest in Warren at all, she looked for a way to shot him down in a way that wouldn't hurt him too badly, but which would be firm enough to squash any possible lingering hopes the young man might have.

"Oh, yes, you do. I'm pretty badass if I want to be. Like a personal superhero or such." He beamed at her obviously letting Maxes' comment get to his head.

"Erm… not that much of a hero, but I have to give you that – it is really awesome that you stood up to a bully and acted, not as others who might have just stood there." Max tried and failed to keep the sarcastic note out of her voice, but Warren seemed unfazed by it or he just simply couldn't take a hint even if it hit him right between the eyes.

"Even if you left me with said bully and ran off with that girl." He replied somewhat sullenly. Max rolled her eyes, but didn't comment. Her reply could very much have been too harsh. "She is pretty punk rock. Well, I mean you are pretty hard rock yourself, but… er… Anyways, how do you know her?"

"Smooth. That is metal, Warren. Totally different genre, but I can see over such small mistakes from outies." Max replied with a sarcastic grin, before adding, "As for Chloe - she is a very good old friend of mine. We haven't seen in a while."

"I bet you were glad to see her blast up in that truck, like a rock star." Warren said grinning clearly not concentrating on the sarcasm on Maxes' part. "Which begs the question – why did Nathan go full psycho on you back there?"

"Warren, I don't know if you should get involved in this too much. You are already involved enough, but as I said, I can handle things pretty well myself." Max said sternly. "I think it is enough if I just say that I busted him and he found out. Anyways, I think you don't have to worry about that prick all too much, for when I see him the next time, it will be the last time he will show his face outside of an asylum." Max only than realised with what anger she had said the last part as she saw the shocked expression on the young mans' face.

"Anyways," Max said waving a hand as if to dissipate the bad mood in the air before her, "I'll return the favour some time. So take care, okay?" She turned to walk off, when Warren spoke up again, his hand outstretched as if to grab hers.

"Erm… sure… oh, by the way, Max, do you maybe want to go to the theatre in downtown tomorrow evening? They have pretty good 70's movies there." Warren asked hopeful to receive a positive answer.

"No, thanks for the offer, but no thanks. Not my bottle of rum." Max just said over her shoulder, not really turning back to face the young man before she put back in her ear-buds and headed out to the bus station.

The drive to the dinner was eventless, but luckily not a long one and so Max used that time to stew a little over her plans to make the lives of certain people much harder and those of certain others – much easier. The dinner looked still the same as five years ago and Max was actually glad to see it unchanged. She had spent some pretty good days at the dinner eating for free as Joyce had always somehow 'forgotten' to get them the bill.

As she entered the dinner she could see that despite it being very early in the morning it was pretty well visited. A cop was sitting at the bar, which explained the police car outside in the parking lot. Some truckers were having breakfast as were some other patrons. She didn't bother to try and put on a song in the jukebox as she doubted it had anything she would really like and thus decided to just settle in one of the empty booths and wait for Joyce to notice her or Chloe to appear.

It had only been a few minutes of waiting, when Joyce turned to her with the coffee-can in one hand and a pleasant, but professional smile on her face, which never really reached her eyes. She had not changed at all.

"Can I get you something, darling? Oh, my- Max! You sure have changed! You actually look a bit like my own daughter although the hair colour is the exact opposite and you certainly have a better taste in clothes." Joyce eyed her from top to bottom with a cocked eye-brow. "But it oddly suits you. You look pretty." She commented.

"Thanks, Joyce. You look good yourself. You haven't aged at all." Max smiled back at the older woman which was the closest person she had to a mother now. That thought clouded her smile a bit, but she hoped the older woman hadn't noticed it. Of course she had no such luck.

"Oh, Max, what a charmer you are. So, how are you doing, lovely young woman?" Joyce smiled and chided her.

"It certainly is nice to be back. Very fucking weird in some ways, but nice after all. And it is really good to see you, Joyce." Max replied truthfully.

"Good save kid. Though I hope you don't use such words around me anymore or I will have to bring up all the bills from five years ago." Joyce smiled a bit, before turning more serious at Max. "You are a smart kid, Max, but I have to be honest – I am a bit disappointed with you. Getting busted for smoking pot, really? I heard the whole story from David and I'm sorry that you had to meet him in that way. He is a good man, no matter what Chloe says."

"Look, Joyce? I get that and it is obvious that they have it out for each other, but it is really just a misunderstanding. I don't really smoke, but this has been a very, and I mean very stressful time for me and with the opportunity at hand – I just took what I got. It was a mistake, I know, but it happened." Max offered, not really wanting to get into this conversation.

"It surprised me, Max, that is all. I hoped you could be a good influence in her life now…" Joyce said before pouring in some coffee in a mug which was placed on the table before Max and setting it before the younger woman.

"I'll try. At least that I can promise." Max said smiling, grateful for the coffee. "I know things went south for you and Chloe and I feel bad for not calling, but it wasn't exactly easy for me and my dad as well." She looked at Joyce pleadingly, hoping the older woman would not dwell on the issue.

"You just moved on with your life, Max. As did I, after David passed away. Chloe… Chloe decided to just stay angry. David is a good man and he has paid his dues in the war. He really cares about Chloe and the other Blackwell students, even if Chloe sees it as her mission to rebel against him." Joyce said with sadness in her voice, but certainly trying not to take this discussion in a way the young woman before might not like. "But enough of this for now. What can I get you to eat? You must be starving."

"Bacon and eggs. Something with much protein. I still do train even if not so intensively as a few years ago, but I want to keep my body as fit as possible without too much work." Max replied happy for the change of topics.

"Coming right up. Anyways, I hope we will get to see more of you. Chloe really could need an old friend right now." She said before blessing Max with another smile and moving on to the other patrons to hand out coffee.

"As could I, Joyce. As could I." Max muttered under her breath so as to not catch the attention of the woman who was like a second mother to her.

It really took the chef in the back of the dinner only a few moments to get the meal done and Max was positively surprised at the size of the fully packed plate, which Joyce set before her after having served the other patrons coffee and returned to her place behind the bar and given the order and asking the chef to cook the breakfast 'pronto'.

"I still can't believe it though. You're a woman now, Max. When I think of the pictures of you and Chloe-" Joyce interrupted herself looking up from the woman she had just served the meal and out of the window. "Speak of the devil." She said before turning towards the door of the dinner, where Chloe just waltzed in as if she would own the place.

"Mom and Max, together again." Chloe teased.

"And Chloe looking for a free meal, I see. You've put your whole college fund on the tab." Joyce narrowed her eyes, but there wasn't any malice or anger in her voice.

"Actually, I'm treating Chloe to breakfast." Max piped in, speaking around the bacon she had just put in her mouth.

"Are you atoning for the racket you made yesterday?" Chloe's mom asked with a stern voice, but a glint of amusement in her eyes. Before Chloe could say anything, Max already beamed at her mother.

"Can't say I'm not, Ms. Price. I sure as hell don't remember all too much, so yeah, why not? A little atonement has never hurt anybody, right?" Max grinned still chewing her food.

"Well, you got that part right." The older woman smiled too now to Chloe's surprise. "Okay. I assume you too want bacon and eggs?" She turned on her daughter, who managed a silent nod as her mother moved to place the order.

"You guys are still the same." Max said somewhat amused by the look on Chloe's face as Max had somehow managed to get her a full portion of bacon and eggs and not just one, how she was used to get, when she would antagonize her mom.

"Yeah, another reason to blow this town." Chloe said but smiled at Max nonetheless, before turning and walking over to the jukebox and putting on some rock music from the 80's. ' _So they do have actually something there what is at least partially acceptable._ ' Max thought. She had stowed away her ear-buds and phone after entering the booth, but had toyed with the thought of getting them out if she would have to wait all too long on Chloe.

"Now, let's talk about your superpowers." The blue-haired girl didn't seem worse for wear after the last night as she climbed in to the seat opposite from Max.

"I don't have an explanation. I can't explain why I saw that weird fucking tornado, but I guess even if I had some kind of idea yesterday evening – it's gone now." Max said leaning back in her seat.

"Well, we did kind of get a bit too wasted there." Chloe smiled. "Didn't know you could sing so well, or that you could growl, or that you knew most of the songs from-, what was that band called, who had the Q with a spermatozoid as a logo?" Chloe laughed seeing Max trying hard to remember what they had done the evening before.

"That would be Queens of the Stone Age and yeah, they are pretty awesome." Max said still trying to figure when she had shown off her singing and growling skills to the blue-nette.

"Well, I can second that now, after a personal crash-course of all the ' _best songs in the freaking world'_." Chloe laughed again. She really had discovered the band for herself as the music had struck a chord in her at some point in the late evening. Maybe it had been the weed talking, but if the music was good to rock out when you are high and it makes the high only better – that is a damn good sign.

"But anyways – the tornado is just a daydream, Max. I want proof that you can rewind time." Chloe turned back to her original topic.

"Well, I could name every single thing that you have in your pockets right now." Max offered clearly enjoying the little game she could pull off.

"Dude, I don't even know what I have in my pockets! You got X-ray vision too now or what?" Chloe asked excitedly.

"Chloe, X-ray works differently, but hell if I got a new even freakier power… what I meant was that you show me, what you got in there, I rewind and tell you." Max face-palmed herself, before explaining her plan to Chloe using the possibility to tease her friend.

"Yeah, yeah! Whatever! Let's see!" Chloe didn't pay it any mind and started packing everything she had on her on the table. "Ok, Max. Impress me!"

"So, this is me telling you what you got in your pockets." Max said after taking a look at the items Chloe had packed on the table before rewinding to the moment they came up with the idea. "You've your car keys, they have a panda keychain. 7 Cigarettes." Max made a face at this, but continued. "You also got 86 cents on you and a parking ticket, which says you were busted at 10:34 a.m."

"Ok, that is some precise info you got there, rocker-gal, but now for the fact check." Chloe said still thinking at least half of the info might be off as the only thing she certainly knew was true was about her car keys having a panda keychain. The look of confidence on her face disappeared though, when she began to pack everything she had in her pockets on the table and go over the details.

"Amazeballs. I literally got chills all over my neck right now." The punk-girl exclaimed clearly scared a bit by the exact knowledge Max had shown about the things she had had in her pockets. "You really do have powers." She looked up to the other girl, who was sitting there pleased by the amazement in her voice.

"Take that crap off the table, Chloe." Joyce intoned as she came around the bar and placed the plate with breakfast before Chloe. "How is the food, Max?"

"Better than I remember." Max said smiling at the older woman.

"Very good save." Chloe's mom said smiling back at her as she turned and walked of to get the orders from the other patrons.

"Man, I'm hungry like a wolf." Chloe stated chewing already on the second slice of bacon. Max hadn't even seen the first one vanish.

"I can see that. But so am I." Max grinned before digging back in herself.

"God, I'm still freaking about what just happened. You have to show me more. Something way cooler so I believe you without a doubt." Chloe set down her fork and knife and excitedly grabbed one of Maxes' hands.

"Want me to predict the future? Sure, can do that." Max said in a tone as if it was the easiest thing in the world and after observing what happened in the dinner in for the next few moments and then rewinding, she was ready to shock Chloe to the core.

"Ok, now listen to the wise oracle of Maxopolis!" Max placed a piece of egg in her mouth and talked around it while chewing. "See the trucker there? He'll drop his mug and Joyce will rip him a new one. The cop over there will get an emergency alert but his partner in the car outside leaves without him. Justin and Trevor, yeah, I know their names, I asked, will get into a fight and Joyce breaks it up. And the jukebox will go crazy as a cockroach crawls over it."

"Ok, sounds pretty bizzaro, but let's see what happens, Max." Chloe said excitedly, looking around to get a full view on the dinner for the next few moments. After everything happened exactly as Max had predicted it, or rather, like it already had happened once before, Chloe was completely stunned and turned to her friend in amazement.

"I pledge allegiance to Max and the power for which she stands." Chloe exclaimed as she bowed over the table as if really bowing to the other girl, which took it all with a cocky grin on her face.

"That's right! Bow ya shits! Bow before yer king!" Max gave the blue-nette her best Robert Baratheon from the GoT series imitation. "Still, I guess I shouldn't toy all too much with it. The headaches I get from it are a real bummer."

"Screw that! Of course you should toy with it! That is like the best toy ever!" Chloe exclaimed excitedly. "You could bang anybody with no strings attached, rewind time and boom, it's like it never happened!"

"Yeah, right." Max just rolled her eyes.

"Maybe you made a move on me and I'd never know." Chloe teased. At this Maxes' eyes took on a certain glint and the girl with brown-red hair smiled mischievously. "Wait! Don't tell me you really did that!" Chloe asked in shock.

"I didn't know you have beige panties. Figured it wasn't really your colour. And you are smooth there too… Shaved for me?" Max teased the grin spreading on her face as she watched the girl before her grow red as a beet and sit back at her side of the table so suddenly she nearly bumped her mug all the while eyes and mouth opened wide in silent shock.

"How-" she started, but Max interrupted her, laughing at the young woman's distress.

"Don't worry, Chloe. I didn't go all ' _whole-body-massage_ ' on you back there. I'm just messing with you. I just couldn't refrain from saying it, though I guessed and don't really have any idea about the specifics." Max laugher, before adding with another wicked grin, "But judging from your expression I seem to have struck gold about at least one thing that I said."

Chloe was still trying to regain her composure for a time, but after shooting the other girl an angry look, she couldn't help but to start smiling too before bursting out laughing.

"Damn, woman! You got me good there! You've got guts to joke crudely, that's for sure." She said. "Anyways. This is so fucking insane… We have to play!"

"Would love to, but I don't know if I have _the time_." Max said still grinning, when a sudden sharp pain struck her and she placed a hand beneath her nose. It came away bloody.

"Too much blow?" Chloe teased thinking it was just the stress. Could happen to anybody really.

"Too much excitement. See? That is what happens when we hook up." Max said a bit worried, but otherwise unfazed by the blood on her hands. She had seen her own blood before.

"Then, maybe we should just go hang out at one of my secret lairs and test your powers fully." Chloe offered handing Max one of the tissues from a box on the table. "You need a sidekick to guide you after all!"

"Ok, Girl Wonder… Show me the way to Chloe's Cave." Max replied getting out of the booth and walking over to Joyce and paying for the breakfast.

"Ok, Supergirl, let's go to my secret place!" Chloe said as Max joined her at the door of the dinner.

At the exact moment Maxes' phone started to blast Red Fang's _Prehistoric Dog_ and showing the photo of Kate Marsh Max had set up as to know who exactly would call her.

"Don't even answer! We have places to go, people to do." Chloe said clearly not wanting to lose the time she would have spent with Max to something as trivial as a phonecall.

"Look, Chloe. Zip it! It's Kate Marsh, from Blackwell, and Victoria gave her some really hard shit to deal with, ok?" Max said, but Chloe beat her to the punch and answered just as ready.

"Big whoop. I had also heavy shit to deal with. You don't call me five years and now you're all over some shy nun you see every day at the Blackwell Monastery? I see how you roll. So go ahead and chat up with Kate Marsh from Blackhell. I got other people to hang out with too."

"I said – zip it. And I mean what I say." Max said holding up a finger at Chloe before answering the phone. "Hey, Kate, what's up?"

"Please, don't let your best friend get in the way." Chloe threw up her arms, but didn't move from the spot waiting for Max to end her phone call.

"You okay?" Max asked the girl on the other side of the conversation. "Yeah, don't worry. I won't forget. And I will sure as hell make them pay. So don't stress, do your homework and try to sleep a bit, okay? Yeah, sure. I'll call you later then. Sit tight, bible-girl."

"Thanks, Max." Chloe said angrily when Max put her cell phone away and turned to her. "If you'd rather chill with Kate, please, go ahead."

"Not this again, Chloe." Max groaned. "I told you. She has to deal with some real fucked up things right now. I'll tell you 'bout it later, as it might concern you too, but the shit you are giving me right now is ridiculous, okay? I'll chill with you. So could we, please, get to your secret base, 'cause I really would like to see it and think things over at a calmer and less public place."

"For now… Ok, let's rock." Said Chloe as they walked out of the dinner and got into her car.

* * *

-Killing me softly-

* * *

The oh-so-cool secret hiding place turned out to be the local junkyard, which was a little further out in the perimeter of the town and where all kinds of old junk had been bunkered. Chloe was practically dragging Max through the whole junkyard not really letting up on where the exact location of her secret lair was in this whole place, which kind of did piss Max a bit off, but then again – it was very much like Chloe to do such a thing.

"Is this a race or what?" Max groaned. "How many times are you going to get pissed at me this week?" Max said before slugging back a long draw from the beer bottle she had bought. ' _It's not even midday and I'm drinking again. Didn't know my powers came with a heightened risk for alcoholism._ ' Max thought a bit grudgingly.

"Well, that depends on you and how well you do this phase of the test." Chloe answered before taking a sip from her own beer bottle. "Anyways – welcome to American Rust, my home away from Hell."

"I can see why you like it here. Back in Seattle I had to settle for less glamorous secret lairs to get away from the everyday life." Max said taking a look around, for the first time really setting her mind on where they were now. "Raw and rough. I like it."

"Yeah, right? Do you know how awesome this is?" Chloe replied all mock-anger washed away from her voice, leaving more room for the excitement to fill in the empty spot. "I get my best friend back and she is also supersized?"

"Right. We don't know for how long. So let's have some fun, okay? I want to relax a bit." Max offered. She had had a pretty bad start in the day with all that had happened to Kate and she had thought about it constantly throughout all the morning, so now she was in the mood for something more light-hearted.

"In that case, let's break some bottles!" Chloe smiled at that and pulled out the gun she had stolen from her stepdad.

"Wow, the serial-bottle-killer from Arcadia Bay has awakened. I can already see the title of the newspapers tomorrow – ' _Chloe the Breaker strikes again, which bottle will be her next victim?'_ " Max snorted, but threw back the rest of the beer, before placing her bottle on one of the old cars further away from where they were standing. "You sure, you know how to use a gun?" She asked slightly sceptical after looking how Chloe was posing like some wannabe-gangster.

"Duuh, after more than a thousand online videos – pretty much, yeah!" Replied the blue-nette rolling her eyes.

"And I have been going to shooting-lessons as part of myself discovering if I didn't want to become a murderer for hire, so I think I'll do a better job. Anyways, one bottle is hardly enough to have a real shootout." Max stuck her tongue out at the other girl slightly mocking her.

"Then we need to hunt down… let's say four more bottles?" Chloe grinned back at the rocker-girl.

"Three. Finish yours and make it join its comrades in the inglorious battle against bullets." Max said waving a hand at Chloe before starting to scan the junkyard for anything they could use as a target. She didn't have to search long though. She quickly found two bottles and found the third one in a small half-built shack, which probably was the secret lair Chloe was talking about. It was full of graffiti and various things, all pointing into the direction that this was Chloe's and Rachel's hideout.

' _Damn, looks like I'm intruding here on lovely-dovely-memory lane._ ' Max thought surprised at how bitter it sounded in her head. She had just taken a sweeping look at the interior, before she noticed one specific graffiti, which stated ' _Chloe was here_ ' and beneath that ' _Rachel was here_ '. Without really thinking she took a black marker that was lying on the ground and added her own text beneath the two above - ' _PowerMax was here_ ', before getting back to looking for bottles to shoot. She found one in the trash bin near a sofa, but couldn't resist the urge to take a peek at the crumbled paper beneath it, when she saw that something was scribbled on it, after she had picked up the bottle. After all, this could lead to some more clues about Rachel's whereabouts and had she not decided to help her best friend?

"Let's see what we can find out, shall we, Watson?" Max said to nobody in particular as she picked up the crumbled paper and straightened it so she could read what was said there. As she quickly flew over what it said, she felt the knot of anger build up in her stomach. ' _She fucking left her for some random fucker, just 'cause he's older and into weird shit? Well, I mean, I have also tried out things, but why does she have to be so much like Casandra?_ ' She thought bitterly before re-reading the letter. Some parts of it were crossed out so many times it was not possible to say what was written there. The neat handwriting on the paper hinted at the possibility that Chloe and Rachel might have been a bit closer than just best friends. ' _Well, Chloe did say she fell in love._ ' Still, Rachel had at least tried to explain unlike a certain woman that had once meant the world for the rocker-girl. ' _Seems like Rachel didn't feel the same way though… Wait a minute! Vortex Club? Oh, bloody fucking Christ! This doesn't sound good!_ ' She read the letter a third time, before crumbling it back and throwing it back into the trash can with more anger than he had expected. Worry and rage at the girl she didn't know wrestled in Max for control, but after taking another look around the small shack, she settled on just being worried about Chloe. The ' _I want to die_ ' letter she had found on one small table near the sofa was enough to cool her temper. She had been at that very dark place once herself and knew how hard it was to deal with life sometimes.

"She's still a bitch for ditching Chloe." Max muttered as she went back to where Chloe was waiting and loading the gun.

"So? Ready to take a shot, Max?" Chloe beamed at her.

"Yeah, just let me place the bottles so we have our targets and let's get started." Max replied as she walked over to the rusty car where two empty bottles were already placed on the lid.

"Ok, Max! You have to help me aim. Show me the way." Chloe said before taking up a more serious posture.

"Sure thing, Sweat Pea." Max said. "I'll teach you how to shoot, Clementine."

"Who's Clementine?" Chloe asked cocking an eyebrow at the girl next to her.

"You really don't play video games much, huh? 't was from _The Walking Dead_ , Telltale Games. Really fucked me up. I wouldn't come out from my room for a whole day, because I cried so much at the end of the game." Max looked at Chloe with a small sneer. "Anyways, time to put some new holes in the bottles. Shoot first so I know if you even can hit something."

"As you say, emotional rocker-girl." Max only mouthed a silent ' _Ouch!_ ' at Chloe's remark as the other girl took aim and shot completely missing the bottle. Max rewound just a second after Chloe's remark before instructing the punk-girl to aim a bit more to the right. This time the bullet hit.

"Oh, yes! Did you see that shit, Max?" Chloe cheered excitedly. "That was so fucking cool!"

"Duuh, you have, like, the Jedi Grandmaster guiding you. Only that I'm young and sexy and not some green midget." Max laughed.

"Hey! Yoda is cool, okay?" Chloe replied, but grinned nonetheless. "Now for the second bottle." Chloe took aim and Max let her shoot, rewinding and instructing her where to aim.

"Now that is fun. Let's pump up the volume and find me another target." Chloe said excited at her own idea. "I wanna get creative…"

"Ooo, the young padawan thinks she can handle the trials?" Max smirked at the blue-nette as she looked for something that might be good for a trick-shot, but still break the bottles. After a few small rewinds she had found the first good target. "Alright, aim you must take. The wheel rim to your left must you hit. Guideing you the force will be." Max gave it her best Yoda imitation, which under the current circumstances wasn't very much.

"I will do as you instruct, master. Taking out the wheel rim now…" Chloe snorted and took the shot. The bullet ricocheted and hit the third bottle. "Hella yes!" The girl was clearly happy with the results. "That's what I'm talking about."

"Nice shooting, rookie." Max said growing a bit weary of the whole process as she felt the rewinding take its toll on her.

"Ok, now, before you do something dumb, like shooting yourself, let's get ourselves a last ubercool trick-shot and go someplace I can chill." Max offered.

"Hell yeah! Now where do I aim, Max? Give me a target." Chloe was nearly bouncing on the spot.

"Use the junker over there as a target. Shoot the tire. Results will be guaranteed by Max the Almighty." Max pointed to where Chloe should aim. "And don't hit the bumper, the bullet will ricochet and hit you in the shoulder."

"Wow… ok, that is scary, good thing you told me where to aim, because I was totally gonna shoot that bumper if you hadn't said anything." Chloe said with a bit of fear in her voice.

"Yeah, well, good that I can rewind time, right? Now take the shot, Blue." Max said again pointing where she wanted Chloe to shoot. The punk-girl took aim and shot. As expected, shooting the tire prompted the old car to lose its balance where it was placed and roll down from the other car it was on, shattering the remaining bottles, before keeling over and falling in the direction of the two women. They took a few steps back as a precaution, just as the car slammed on the ground.

"Ubercool!" Chloe said jumping once on the spot and bumping fists with Max. "I cannot believe this is for reals. My best friend is a superhero! Now it's your turn to bust a cap."

"Yeahm- maybe later… I don't feel so super, right now." Max said weakly. A sudden sharp pain had hit her again and made her feel weak in the knees.

"Max, your nose! Damn…" Chloe went a little pale as she saw the girl before her place a hand beneath her nose only for it to come away bloody.

"Oh, shit…" Was the last thing Max managed to say before falling head along in Chloe's direction. She didn't hear Chloe shout her name with panic in her voice or how the other woman picked her up and went to a spot further away from possible prying eyes where she could tend to the shorter girl. Max saw again flashes of her nightmare-vision, but woke up rather soon, only to find that Chloe had laid her on the lid of an old truck having placed Maxes' head on her lap. She felt Chloe slowly rubbing her back in a way that was reassuring her that the other girl hadn't left and was caring for her.

"You freaked me out there. Do you feel any better?" Chloe asked worriedly as the brown-red haired girl got up slowly.

"A little. Thanks for helping me… Just give me a sec, okay?" Max said rubbing her temples with one hand.

"Too much action for Arcadia?" Chloe asked trying to lighten the mood and just as much to reassure Max as herself.

"Never. I will make them eat dirt! Just needed to take a few deep breaths." Max answered after just doing so. "I'm ready to lock and load." Max said after picking up the gun from where it was lying next to Chloe's hand, as Chloe swung down from the truck and slung her arm around Maxes' shoulders. ' _This is kind of like we used to be. Close like the frenchies. With no space between us. Well… nearly._ ' Max smiled at the thought.

"Alright, make me proud, sista!" Chloe laughed. Just in that moment a man came around the corner only a few feet away from the two women, but far enough for Max to quickly put her hands behind her back so that he wouldn't notice the gun. He wasn't particularly mean-looking, but something about the tattooed, grumpy middle-aged man seemed a little off.

"Hey! It's Thelma and Louise! Or was it Bonny and Clyde?" The man said a bit mockingly, but without malice in his voice gesturing at the two girls.

"Excuse us, Frank." It was obvious Chloe knew the guy, but was not pleased to see him.

"Oh, sorry, Chloe! Don't let me get in the way of your bonding." He mocked. "I heard the gunshots and the breaking glass. It's cute that you play with guns. Just like me at your age." He said as he came a bit closer. ' _Wrong move, pup. Wrong move._ ' Max thought feeling herself tense up. She already had played out at least five scenarios how to take the man down if he would try something funny.

"We are not anything alike, man." Chloe said frowning angrily at the taller man.

"We both need money. In fact you need it so bad, you owe me a shitload. Don't you, Chloe? Huh?" The blond mans' voice grow a bit more hostile at this point as he came to stand right before the blue haired girl.

"I'll get your money." Chloe replied defensively. The man paid no attention to Max who had just moved to stand next to Chloe.

"Don't they all say that? Y'know, even when they are broke and just act tough…" Frank said still in a mocking tone, before finally noticing that Max held her hands behind her back. "What are you hiding there, girlie? Let me see!" He stretched out a hand.

"Where did you get that bracelet?" Chloe suddenly asked with real anger.

"A friend. And it's none of your goddamn business. You're my business now and I-" The man went instantly on the defence, retracting his hand.

"That's Rachel's bracelet! Why the fuck are you wearing her bracelet?" Chloe interrupted him jabbing a finger at him.

"Calm yourself, alright? It was a gift." The man said, trying to end the conversation.

"No, it wasn't. You stole that shit. Give it to me right now, asshole." Chloe accused him with fury in her eyes. ' _Ok, Max, be ready to knock 'im out if shit goes south. Just like in the Championship finale._ ' Max eyed the situation weary and was not sure if she shouldn't just fire the last remaining round into the air so as to startle the girl and the man. At that moment Chloe tried to grab the bracelet on Frank's wrist, but he pulled out a knife from his jacket and held it right before Chloe's eyes.

"You better step back, girl, before you regret it! I mean it." He said. "You want me to cut you, bitch?"

"Ok, that's enough. Put that knife down before you get hurt, big guy." This got their attention. Max was holding up the gun aiming at Frank's stomach.

"You're kidding. Put that down." The man said, his confidence wavering.

"Not really. Wouldn't be the first time I have to shoot a person. A wound to the stomach is serious business, but I doubt you will make it so far as to call the ambulance." Max said flatly, her face not betraying anything.

"You're bluffing." He said, but it was clear that this situation was quickly becoming uncomfortable for the man.

Without a second thought Max levelled the gun and shot. The bullet dug in right next to the man's left foot.

"That was a warning." Max said. "Now play nice and go back to where you came from. I'll tell you this only once, so listen carefully. I don't have anything in particular against you yet, except waving that knife at my best friend, but if you cross me – in any way – I will find you and I will end you. Got that?" Max was saying this all in a calm manner, but she actually was barely able to restrain herself from crossing the distance between them in a leap and beat the hell out of the man. She really didn't have anything against the man, as she had said, but once she got this enraged, it took her all her willpower not to beat someone up. And she knew she could take him out easily despite the height and weight difference.

"I'll remember you, kid! I'll remember you almost shot me!" The man said after recovering a bit from the shock already on the retreat stepping backwards not letting Max out of his vision. "And you'll wish I had no memory, because I never forget." He tried to intimidate the smaller girl, but was failing as he was constantly stepping away from her, before he turned just once to Chloe. "You have until Friday to pay me. Don't ever try to pull crap like this again-"

"You done? I said not to piss me off and right now I'm just on the verge of committing murder. So scram, before a bullet tears you a new one." Max said this time unable to hide the rage boiling inside her. This outburst made the man stop dead in his tracks before turning and quickly walking away as he put the knife back in his jacket.

When the man had disappeared from their vision Max dropped the gun carelessly and walked over to a wooden pole which was standing rammed in the ground a bit further way. It looked sturdy enough to take a beating. Without explaining what was going on inside her she just started to jab and kick at the pole, not caring that her knuckles would hurt like hell and probably bleed afterwards.

"Max? Max! You can calm down. He's gone and we're unhurt." Chloe came up to her but not too close, worry in her voice. At this Max stopped to punch the pole and turned to Chloe. Her face showing deeply set hurt, which Chloe couldn't explain. The young rocker-girl looked like she didn't know if to yell at her or to just break down and cry. Chloe reacted in the way that came to her naturally at that moment – she quickly walked over to the girl and embraced her in a tight hug. "It's alright, Max. You were badass. Thank you for standing up for me… C'mon. Let's blow. My secret lair doesn't feel so secret today." She let go of the smaller girl. "At least Frank is gone. He won't mess with us. You made hella sure of that. He just wants his money." She said as she turned as if to lead the rocker-girl away from the junkyard.

"I do hope he has as good a memory as he claims." Max only said before she followed her friend out onto the train tracks. This all reminded her too much of her past and she certainly didn't want to experience it all over again.

* * *

-Alive inside-

* * *

They walked in silence for a while before getting on the rails and continuing their way holding each other hands for balance.

"I still can't believe you pulled a gun on Frank. That was epic." Chloe started the conversation, clearly not being over the topic.

"I could have beaten him to a pulp even without a gun on me, but that would have been way messier. Still, I hope I won't have to do this again. Last time already was enough." Max said absentmindedly.

"Hell yeah, the moves you pulled on that poor pole would have reduced him to bloody bits in seconds." Chloe exclaimed. "So you really did learn Muay Thai?"

"Well, duuh! I was even at a junior championship in Olympia once. Got gold for my efforts." Max answered bragging a little.

"Wow! That's strong stuff, man!" Chloe sounded really impressed, before she added in a smaller voice, but not without a fair share affection in it. "I'm just glad you were here."

"Me too… BatMax saves the day again… Just, Chloe, why do you even hand out with people like Frank?" Max inquired, she could probably guess that it had something to do with dope, but why she would owe Frank money – that she wanted to hear from her friend.

"Let's take a break and I'll talk." Chloe said as she lay down on the rails. They had just reached a junction and the cabin for switching the rails. Max set down too, hoping her friend would continue to explain as she promised. "Feels like a different world, huh?" Chloe asked after a small pause.

"Yeah… Could we build another pirate fort and keep the world at bay?" Max grinned a bit at the obvious word-play.

"We need a new secret hangout… At least Frank wouldn't find us. But damn, Max, you sure you're ok? I mean that with Frank must have riled you up quite a bit to nearly destroy that wooden pole, not talking about your hands in the process." Chloe asked a bit concerned about her friend.

"Yeah… I just needed to get that out of my system, but talking about Frank – you wanted to tell me what the deal was with him." Max replied evasively trying to steer the conversation back in the original direction.

"Frank isn't as hardcore as he fronts." Chloe began still eyeing her friend with a bit of worry. "All he cares about is his cash, stash and mangy dog."

"Details, Chloe. Please." Max sighed. ' _Why do I have to pry everything from people today as if they were safes containing top secret files that could destroy the world?_ '

"Frank Bowers. He's just the local dealer. Where I get my weed. Anyway, Frank and I hang out." Chloe answered quickly.

"Erm… hung out?" Max raised a brow at her friend as to signal ' _What exactly do you mean by that?_ '.

"What? No! We didn't have sex. Gross, man! He never even tried." Chloe answered in disgust. "I just made the mistake to borrow money so Rachel and I could bail out of this hellhole."

"That's it?" Max asked looking up at the bright blue sky.

"No. I want to know how Frank got Rachel's bracelet… What do you think?" The anger was back in Chloe's voice.

"We have to keep an eye on that guy, but don't do anything rash. We need to get to the bottom of this, not get our asses kicked for killing a dealer in the process of finding answers." Max said sternly, but more to herself than to Chloe. Losing her temper in the manner like today – twice already – that reminded her, why she had been sent to therapy for nearly a year. ' _Seems like Arcadia bay is not only getting out my inner nerd, but also awakening the Hulk or Mr. Hyde in the process._ ' She thought wearily.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Best if we do that without him eyeballing us though." Chloe agreed readily, "Damn, it feels weird to talk with you about all this insane shit. We haven't hung out this much since we were tweens… and it's like no time has passed. I wish Rachel was here to meet you…"

"I don't know Chloe… I'm not really good with people. Never have been. You were like the only other person I would really trust outside of my family. I'm not really sure I would have been able to be friends with Rachel." Max bit down on her lip.

"Bullshit. You are not that different. She had- has a great eye for images and for art." Chloe corrected herself. "Plus, she's a smartass like you. We would all be hella 'besties for fucking ever'."

"Right…" Max dragged the word out, but added, "Only way to find out is to find her. I'm sure we'll meet her soon" With that she got up and took out her camera. "Ok, time to make best of our railroad time with my cam. Have no clue what I wanna do in the future, but learning photography must mean that at least I could work in one profession, right?"

"Yeah. Enjoy your stay in Railroad-nowhere-next-to-Arcadia Bay." Chloe laughed as she remained on the tracks watching as Max went up behind her and up the small hillock on which the cabin controlling the junction was built.

Max was just about to make a photo, when the sharp pain in her head hit her again. Visions of the tornado ripping through the town flooded her head. For a brief but very painful moment she couldn't hear anything except the crash caused by the tornado devastating the town. She was only ripped out of the nightmare when Chloe's voice penetrated the numbness caused by the pain. It was full of sheer panic.

"Max? Help! I'm stuck!" Chloe cried from where she had lain on the rails. This made Max look up only to see how dire the situation was. A train was approaching fast signalling to them to get out of the way. There was no way it could stop in the short distance left till them.

Max ran down to Chloe and tried to heave her up, but to no avail. Her boot was stuck on something and wouldn't come loose. She took a quick look around and found what she was looking for. Quickly checking if the box containing the cables for the manual switch of the junction was locked, she made her way to the cabin on the mound. She didn't waste any time one even looking if the door to the cabin was locked. She simply kicked it as hard as she could and was not surprised when the lock broke and the door swung open with force. Now she could get in without having to rewind to get more time. A quick search bore the fruits she had hoped it would. ' _With these pliers your set of tools is complete, MacGyver_.' She raced down to the box. It was only now that she rewound, hoping that the item she had grabbed from the cabin would stay on her person even after rewinding. She needed a bit more time. Max nearly ripped off the lock when she opened it only to find herself confused as what to do next – there were three cables, one yellow, one red and one green.

"Please, Max, hurry! Please get me outta here!" Chloe cried a bit further away where she was still trying to unstuck her foot. "The train is coming, Max!"

Max cut the yellow one and regretted it instantly – electricity hit her and she jumped away in pain. ' _Whoa- short circuit city!_ ' She rewound again. ' _Ok, red cable. Like in the movies?_ ' This time it worked. She ran up to the manual switch and tried to push it. It didn't budge.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Max screamed as she kicked the switch with all her might. It clicked and switched the tracks so that Chloe could get her boot loose and jump of the rails just as the train rolled ahead trying to halt its course. It had slowed enough for Chloe to get off the rails and for Max to switch back the tracks. The second time it was easier to pull the lever. It seemed all it had taken was a bit of force. ' _Well fuck me, if this isn't the most exact depiction of the sentence: 'When in doubt, use brute force.'_ ' The train rolled by and after it had done so Chloe came over to the side where Max was standing just to embrace the smaller girl in a tight hug. Again.

"You okay?" Max asked as she squeezed the blue-nette against herself. This was all too crazy.

"You saved my life again, Max. This is so crazy. Now we are totally bonded for life." Chloe said squeezing back before letting go of the smaller woman.

"More like I own your juicy punk-ass!" Max said smiling weakly, but glad to see her best friend unharmed. "If you do such shit again, I will seriously slap you." She added in a more serious but slightly playful tone, even as she didn't really know why.

"I swear to all the gods – you have all the right to do that, should I ever get myself in such a mess again." Chloe laugher. "But aren't you glad I took you away to a nice quiet desolate place?" Slinging an arm around Maxes' shoulders and pulling her close to her side, feeling reassured as Max placed a lazy, but at the same time firm hand around her waist.

"I am. It was cool to spend time in your lair, even with all the shit that happened. But I've got to get back to my school before my next class. Gotta check on Kate too, you know? There ain't no rest for the wicked." Max smiled at Chloe, finding it oddly comforting to be this close to her best friend again. She hadn't felt like this in a long time – secure.

"Well, since you're the mysterious superhero, I'll be your faithful chauffeur and companion." Chloe laughed again.

"Yeah, though my powers may not last forever, you know?" Max said a bit more cautious about the idea of being a superhero, even if just for herself and maybe some few people who she truly cares about. ' _What if it's like Superman and kryptonite and something is going to take them away? Or some other shit like that.._.'

"That's okay – we will. Forever." Chloe replied with a firm conviction in her voice. The blue-haired girl really meant what she said.


	4. Chapter 4

**WARNING:**

 **All characters and the story upon which this fanfiction is based are property of Dontnod Entertainment and Square Enix. I don't own anything.**

 **As this is my first story to be published here, I will be happy about every reviews - both good and bad as only so I can know what I have to improve. :)**

 **Rated M for crude and strong language at times, violence and mature content in later chapters.**

-A Song for the Deaf-

As Chloe smiled as she pulled up near the academy to let Max out of the truck. The ride had been rather uneventful if you didn't count the light banter they had made all the way. Joking and talking shit about this and that, content to be just in each other's presence. This day had started out weird, but she couldn't remember a time in the whole period since Rachel disappeared that she actually had felt this alive or this happy. ' _Maybe_ even before that…' On came a very quiet voice in Chloe's head that she quickly shut up, by hitting the breaks and making the truck come to a full-stop.

"Thanks for the ride, Chloe. Right on time to get some shit done in art class that I haven't finished yet. But, man, I can't stand the teachers." Max asked after giving the girl at the steering-wheel a tight hug.

"Yeah, they can give you some pretty bad shit." Chloe returned the hug before letting go of the other girl. "But I doubt you really pay them any mind anyways." The girl with brown and red hair just stung out her tongue at her and grinned mischievously. "Thanks for coming with me. Sorry for being so boring…"

"Your 'boring' I'd take any time of the day over the lessons at Blackhell. Especially from Jeffer-creep." Max replied bumping fists with Chloe. "Besides, nothing exciting ever happens to us, right?" She added with a sarcastic look. Chloe turned a bit more serious at that notion.

"Listen, your powers must be somehow connected with that snowfall yesterday." She said. "That might explain the tornado vision…"

"And here I was starting to believe it was all 'a daydream'…" Max replied, mocking her friend a bit. "But if you are thinking along the lines of ' _Butterfly Effect_ ' and Chaos Theory, I can see why you might think that, Miss _I-hate-Math_. Shit, I think I even scribbled something back on some pages in my room yesterday."

"Five years, asswipe. Some people change. But yes, your situation is like the perfect storm for quantum physics." Chloe replied in mock-anger. "You're like the perfect example for 'strange attractors'. I mean, we have a tornado incoming, rewind powers with you changing destiny at the whim and freak snow… 'Hello Armageddon'?"

"Well, could party with my powers a bit, eh, Professor Price? And as you said – a superhero needs a faithful sidekick." Max said grinning, guessing what the blue-nette would have said.

"How can it be such a shitty week and yet one of the best in my life?" Chloe asked playfully.

"Well, that is obviously because Max the legendary and epic Warrior of Time and Space has graced this town with her presence again." Max rolled her eyes as if stating the obvious, before bumping Chloe's shoulder lightly and adding with a bright smile on her face that made the interior of the truck light up in Chloe's eyes, completely making her forget that it was raining outside, "But seriously, it's 'cause we're back in action again." She winked at the punk-girl and blew her a mock-air-kiss in her direction. "Ok, player, gotta get shit done or I'm gonna have to use my powers for something as crappy as studies." Max grinned and got out of the car, waving at Chloe as the still stunned girl drove away from the Academy.

Back in the Academy Max quickly went to her locker and took the few pages she would need for the class. She had filled out only three of five and had. She would have to make haste if she wanted to give in the assigned papers so that Mr. Jefferson wouldn't have a reason to give her any shit. She just didn't want to deal with any more of it than absolutely unavoidable on one day. Just as she turned to go to the classroom she saw the security guard, Chloe's stepdad, walk over to her. ' _Would_ you give me a break, Karma? Or you want your fingernails be removed with pliers?' Max groaned inwardly.

"Mr. Madsen?" she kept her voice flat and without any anger in it. She would get back at the prick, but now was definitely not the time.

"Look, Max. I know things got a little heated in Chloe's room yesterday… As a combat veteran I know what traumatic experiences such as a near-death situation can do. I have seen many of my friends from the army in the recent years and what PTSD has done to them…" The man said in a serious, but surprisingly mild manner, having the look of a man who really knew how cruel and hard to bear the world could be. "I'm sorry about yesterday. And I won't bust you. Even I am not that much of an asshole. I was wrong, but upset. While you might need it for your nerves, it has been quite an issue for Chloe." He continued truly apologetic.

"Chloe can be a handful, but she is no threat to you." Max said surprised at seeing the man she had thought to be just another security-freak with issues show a caring side.

"If I didn't care about her, I wouldn't care at all, Max. When I was your age I was out raising a lot more hell… She is better than that. All you kids are. So is Kate Marsh." The man said with a sincere expression on his face.

"What about Kate?" Max asked, immediately sharpening her ears and getting a bit on the defensive. From what David had just said, he probably cared about the students at Blackwell, but the memory of him yelling at Kate was still fresh in Maxes' mind, so she didn't really know what to think. ' _Option A: He just doesn't know how to deal with people and makes it worse even if he means good._ ' Was the optimistic outlook Max could think off. ' _Or_ option B: He is a twofaced bastard and I will still beat the crap out of him, if he troubles Kate any longer.' - was the angry reply from Maxes' more dark side.

"You stepped in between us at a pretty bad time. She is an entirely other matter." Chloe's stepfather said, not without concern in his voice.

"Look, Kate has done nothing wrong. She has been through a lot and really doesn't need to deal with more shit, okay?" Max was not convinced by his answer and it must have been visible on her face, because the security guard continued.

"Max, this isn't about just Kate Marsh. My concern is about the safety of all the Blackwell students. Including you." David said earnestly. "It's just that it will take more than just surveillance cameras, or Ms. Grant's petition to find missing students. It is my duty as head of security to get to the bottom of this and to keep the students safe." He said clearly looking pained that his efforts so far had proven in vain. At this Max had an idea and promptly reacted on it.

"Do you know something about Rachel Amber?" She asked, not really sure if she asked on Chloe's behalf or even if she wanted to hear the answer. "Something nobody else knows perhaps?" It came out angrier than she intended.

"Look, Max. I don't want to fight with you anymore. I don't want to fight with anybody anymore…" The man said, his shoulders slumping a bit as if he felt hurt at the hostility he faced. "That is all." He turned to go on his patrol, but turned around once more. "But should you ever want to talk about what happened to you or if you need advice how to deal with the after-effects of it all, know that you can always turn to me. It is the duty of those who have experienced the hardships of life to show those who experience them right now that there is still something good to look out for." With that said the stern man walked away.

Max was stunned by the last statement from the soldier-turned-security guard. She wouldn't say she would trust every word he said right away, but something in the man's demeanour said that maybe the things before were really just that – misunderstandings and complete miscommunication caused by the clash of personalities and the lacking ability to express ones' thoughts or questions truthfully. ' _Wow…_ Okay, I definitely didn't expect step-douche to be less of a douche and more of an actual person. Not to even mention the fact that he apologized.' Max thought. ' _However_ , this doesn't clear you from my target-list just yet, Mr. Madsen. I will keep an eye on you.' After dealing with so much stuff in her previous schools Max was rather weary of security guards even if she could fabricate convincing lies on the spot and not let anyone step on her.

She was still pondering about the strange conversation with Chloe's stepfather, when she nearly bumped into Kate, who looked thoroughly miserable.

"Whoa there. Kate, are you alright?" Max asked, instantly shifting her whole attention to the girl before her.

"Just a little headache." Kate said weakly, before elaborating when she saw the rock-girl's worried expression. "I just don't feel so good, so I asked Mr. Jefferson if I might be absent for todays' class so I can go see the nurse in her office." The pained expression on Kate's face made Max wince.

"I'll accompany you, Kate." She offered. "Or we could go to my room, if you don't want to go so far as to the nurse's office. I should still have some aspirin and some painkillers. Got a small med-kit with me for myself, back there, you know." She tried to take the other girls hand so she could steady her if needed.

"No, Max." Kate shook her head. "Please, I'll just go to the nurses' office, lay down a bit and be back in the next lesson. You shouldn't skip this class just because of me. I know that you worry and I really appreciate it, but you haven't even finished the assignment that we had for today and you need those if you want to end the semester with good grades." The other girl shied away a bit hugging herself, but trying to put on a small smile for Maxes' sake. "I left you my notes on the table before I went to Mr. Jefferson, but I will need you to take notes for me on this lecture in return. Could you, please, do that for me, Max?" She added in a small voice, sounding somewhat absentminded.

"Well, the grades can go to hell for all I care, but damn, you are as sweet as Mother Theresa." Max said taken aback by the care Kate showed her. They had looked out for each other regarding assignments since the beginning of the semester; but that Kate would do her assignments and make extra notes so that Max could get through a class without Creep-for-Pros getting in an argument with her at a time when Kate herself had hit rock-bottom moved her deeply. Nobody had ever done something like that for her before. Not even Chloe as back in the days it had been Max, who was the smartass helping Chloe with her homework even as the other girl was one year older.

"Please, Max. Can you do that for me? I will talk to you later and you can bring me the notes, okay?" Kate asked in a pained voice, barely audible, but still holding on to the faltering smile on her face. Max couldn't help, but feel like Kate was desperately trying to put a brave face on for her sake.

"Kate… I sure can do that. That is the least I could do, but are you completely sure, I shouldn't come with you?" Max asked. She just had to. Something just didn't feel right about the whole situation. Could she really leave Kate right now just for some lessons she herself was not even interested in? Wouldn't it be better, to make sure that Kate went to see the nurse?

"Yes, Max. Please, now could you let me go? I'll just really want to rest my head for a while." Kate pushed by the other girl, as she walked briskly along the hallway in the direction of the nurses' office, leaving Max in a little pinch – to do as Kate said or to run after the girl.

Her thoughts however were interrupted when Mr. Jefferson came up to her from where he was standing next to the door to the classroom.

"Max?" He startled her a bit when he spoke up, too close for Maxes' comfort. "I know you must be worried about Kate Marsh, as you clearly are friends, but you seriously need to put more effort in your work during the photography classes." He sighed. "I know we have our differences, but I believe you really have a gift for photography, which you shouldn't squander. Have you thought about the competition ' _Everyday_ Heroes' that I mentioned in class last week?"

"Seriously, that is the last thing on my mind now." Max answered with a sneer still unsure, whether or not to go after Kate.

"Please, Max. Take this more seriously. I can understand your worries about Kate. I am worried too, if you believe it or not." Jefferson exclaimed, sounding somewhat sincere, which made Max doubt him even more. She didn't like him one bit. Something about his personality just seemed wrong, but she couldn't really put a finger on it.

"Yeah, right. Like any of the teachers, with maybe the exception of Ms. Grant, pay the students any mind if it isn't connected to their subject of class." Max sneered, she was becoming quickly sick of the conversation with Mr. Creepy-bastard. "Like anybody here is even concerned about the missing students, such as Rachel Amber."

"What has this to do with Rachel Amber? I thought you were worrying about Kate Marsh here." Jefferson stated raising a brow at the rock-girl before him. "Have you talked to Kate? Do you know if she might have brought this on herself? She means well, but maybe she doth protest too much. She seems like she was holding back the truth, when she talked to me earlier, after all." The teacher inquired.

"The fuck?! Brought that on herself?" Max was shocked by the ignorance Jeffer-creep displayed. It might have just been show, but it still shocked her. "She is being bullied and tormented by her schoolmates and is dealing with some seriously heavy shit, and you think she brought it on herself?" She practically spat at the teacher. "Wow! No wonder nobody notices and doesn't even lift a finger, when students go missing!" For Jeffersons suggestion alone she wanted to break his jaw.

"Look, Max! Calm down, okay? I know how that might sound, but it was just a question. As sad as it might be not all students confide in their teachers and we are left in the dark about what is happening." The photography teacher put up his hands in a placating gesture and stepped away from the girl, who had already balled her fists and seemed ready to hit anything that was in her path. "That is all I meant. I believe Kate to be a good girl and it is tragic what is happening to her, but if my students don't tell me what exactly is happening, I can't be there to help them. You have to understand my position."

"Now, please, if you would excuse me, I have to take this call and you should be on your way to class. Kate Marsh left her notes on your desk, but I believe Nathan and Victoria have already entered the classroom and judging from the looks they gave Kate today, I would be grateful, if you could stow Kate's notes away for even if I don't know what exactly is happening I can imagine it to have to do something with those two. And I will have a stern talk with them, if that sets your mind at ease. Especially Nathan whom, I believe, you have accused of bringing a gun to the school." He said before Max could answer anything as his phone started to ring and he had looked at who was on the other side of the line, before picking up and walking a bit further away to talk to whomever was calling.

' _Yeah, right. Like hell you will!_ ' Max highly doubted the teachers – especially Jeffer-creep – would do anything to stop the other students from tormenting Kate. She was still fuming, but practically flew to the classroom anyway. As much as she would have loved to run after Kate right now, the teachers' words reminded her that the two people probably responsible for Kates' plight were already in the classroom and Kate had left her notes on Maxes' desk. She wouldn't let them lay a finger on them. ' _I will break every fucking digit on their hands if they have even laid so much as an imaginary finger on Kate's notes!_ ' Max thought anger boiling in her as she stormed into the room where the other students from the class where still goofing around while the teacher was not in yet.

-Alone I break-

She spotted the duo in question immediately when she entered the classroom, not really paying any mind to the other students. Nathan and Victoria were at her desk, or to be more precise, Nathan _sat_ on her desk, _on the notes_ Kate had placed there, while a bit weary looking Victoria was leaning against it. They were clearly enjoying their little talk though it did seem that Maxes' actions from this morning had a certain effect on Victoria, for as soon as Max came into her view she jumped up from the desk as I she had burned herself looking nervous.

' _Now_ that is a sight I can enjoy.' Max thought with a grim satisfaction. She knew she was in some ways even worse than Victoria, but like she cared. Life hadn't been very kind to her, so why should she be kind to those who made the lives of others even more miserable?

"Better be quiet, Victoria. We have a master snitch and liar here." Nathan sneered when he saw the reason for Victoria's reaction. A bruise just over his brow seemed like it would hurt very much if touched. ' _And here I thought nearly cracking your skull would have taught you not to mess with me._ ' Maxes' anger at the young man was reflecting in her eyes.

"Nathan, don't you think we could continue our conversation at another place. I'm growing sick of just looking at her." Victoria said putting on a disgusted expression as if she had stepped in shit, but the slight tremble in her voice was evidence enough that she was actually scared of what Max could do. Not all of the bullies in Maxes' old school had learned so quickly as Victoria apparently had.

"Listen to Queen-bitch, fucktwad. Now move." Max growled.

"Or what?" Nathan was the sort, who didn't learn so fast it seemed. Max didn't even bother to answer. A simple vicious kick to the man's shin sent him sprawling on the ground as the kick had also sent the chair on which he had placed his feet sprawling. He hissed sharply as the pain registered in his brain.

"You bitch!" Nathan grunted, but fell silent as he realised Max was leaning in to beat him some more. Though Nathan falling had caused a commotion, from the perspective of the other students in the class it might have looked like he had fallen. Maybe Max had just kicked away the chair under his feet and he had lost balance. After all he had been hunched forward, when he addressed the girl in the leather jacket and a burning man depicted on her shirt. Even if they had seen what had really happened they either did not care and went back to what they were doing paying the young man on the floor no mind or they were too scared to blab. Besides, it was Nathan Prescott, who gave many off them a hard time from time to time, so… maybe he deserved it?

"Max. What is going on over there?" Mr. Jefferson asked as came into the classroom and saw Nathan sprawled on the floor with Max looming ominously over him.

"Nothing. He's just being a clumsy and I was just about to help him up." Max stated flatly before turning gracing the man on the ground with an evil smile holding out her hand out to him as if to help him pull himself up.

"Now is that right?" Jeffer-creep didn't sound entirely convinced and raised a brow at the class, who pretended to see the scenery for the first time.

"Yeah. By the way, Mr. Jefferson, can I ask you a question about today's assignments?" Victoria piped in, going over to the teacher and actually asking something trivial about the assignments, which caught the older man's attention, though he still didn't look all too sure what to think about the whole situation.

"One of these days you might accidently fall and really hurt yourself." Max said as she unceremoniously grabbed Nathans hand and yanked him to his feet. The subtle threat not being lost on the man, who shot her an angry glare as he pulled away from the girl, who had grabbing his elbow rather painfully.

"Ok, now that it seems everyone with exception of Kate Marsh, who has excused herself for today's lesson, is here, could we, please, begin?" Jeffer-creeps' question was not a question at all. "Miss Chase, Mr. Prescott and Miss Caulfield, I would like to have a talk with you after class." He stated a bit more sternly. The class quickly settled in their respective places. Max lazily set up her chair and sat down brushing over the slightly crumbled notes. Oh, she would so make sure her threat would not be empty. Smouldering over the incident mere moments ago, Max completely overlooked the small note scribbled on the bottom of one of the pages Kate had left her, which simply stated ' _I'm sorry, Max._ '

As the teacher began to talk about the various topic he wanted covered in this lesson, Max started to go through the notes Kate had left for her. She was spacing out a bit at some point still thinking about Kate and the uneasiness she felt built up in her stomach, when she looked out of the window to see Kate walk by in the direction of the girls' dorms.

' _Did_ she forget something? Just what is going on.' Max wondered before her gaze wandered and she noticed David following a small distance behind Kate. ' _Ok_ , David, I think stalking is neither the best approach if you care for the students, nor your best ability.' Max thought a bit puzzled as she saw him take out a camera and shoot a photograph of the girl he followed.

Mr. Jefferson was still rambling on about the black and white effects in photography and how to best use them, when Maxes' attention slipped again and she looked out of the window again. First she didn't think anything, but then a small blue fluttering insect in the corner of her vision caught her attention. ' _Oh, no, no, no, no! This is bad! Something bad is going to happen! Kate. I have to get to Kate! And I probably should call Chloe, just to be sure._ ' Max thoughts were frantic as she scrambled to stand knocking over her chair in the process.

"Max, what-" The photography teacher started to say something to the girl who was fast on her way to leave the classroom, when Zachary, one of the boys from another class and Juliet's boyfriend, raced into the room.

"Yo! Some crazy shit is happening at the girl's dorm! Check it!" He yelled and was nearly thrown to the ground, when a certain brown and red haired girl pushed past him. Maxes' heart had sunk to her stomach and it seemed the fear for her friends, boiling up in her, was going to overwhelm her. The rest of the class followed suit and ran out of the classroom leaving the teacher behind, who managed to just mutter ' _Dismissed_ ' defeated by the situation.

As Max ran to the girls' dorms a small crowd had already gathered below the tower, which was also the stairwell connecting the two stories of the dorms. Some girls were clearly shocked at what was happening asking no one in particular ' _Is this for real?_ '. Some jocks were thinking this all a prank shouted ' _Bitch_ flipped out!'. For a second the fear in Maxes' stomach turned to burning rage, but she supressed the urge to just tackle the guys and bash their non-existent brains out, for when she turned the corner she finally saw what Zachary had meant. Kate stood on the roof of the tower, right on the edge. Some of the students were pulling out their phones in order to photograph or film how the whole event unfolds.

The sight of that caught Max so off guard in her worry about her friend, that it made her halt for a second, not being able to believe, how cold people could be. ' _Even here. Even in my fucking hometown!_ ' A voice in her head screamed. And then some girls screamed prompting Max to look up just at the moment where Kate let herself fall over the edge.

"Oh, God! No!" She screamed as she reached out to whatever source her powers came from and tried to rewind. But when she had rewound she was deeply disturbed to find out that it was just mere seconds before Kate leaped from the tower. She rewound again as Kate jumped from the roof. ' _No, no, no, no! Why is this happening?_ ' She felt the sharp sting of pain in her head and knew almost instantly that her nose was probably bleeding. ' _Not now! Don't do this now! Oh my God, I won't be able to rewind again and again!_ ' Rewinding to the point where Kate was back at the roof was unbelievably painful.

And then it felt like something had broken in her. The scenery around her seemed to blur and shift in place, as if not knowing what to do – move on or not, as time itself crept to a halt. It coiled around Max like a python and she felt sick to a point of throwing up, but she supressed this urge and tried to move as she was still in control of her mind and now tried out the motor functions of her body. She had to get to Kate somehow. ' _It is like I'm drowning in syrup or thick pudding._ ' She thought as she made her way through the crowd at a pace so slow she was overwhelmed by the despair of failing to reach the girl on the roof in time.

Somehow she made it to the door at the foot of the stairwell and was surprised at what she saw. David Madsen was running up to the door. From all the people on the campus he was the only one who acted. However, she had not the time to dwell on the thought though as she still had to get up to reach Kate, which seemed to take her another eternity.

And then, just as something had clicked into place time started to ' _flow_ ' again, for the lack of a better word, just as Max had reached the top of the roof and had made a few steps in Kate's direction. Somehow Max immediately understood that she couldn't rewind. Whatever had ' _broken_ ' was staying that way and the finality of the situation and the next few moments, the things she could and would have to do, what she would say, was nearly too much to bear. The sharp pain in her head made her groan loudly, which startled the girl on the edge of the roof and made her turn to see who was behind her.

"What are you doing here, Max?" The girl asked not believing that the rocker-girl was really there. Despite the rain Max could clearly tell that the girl before her was crying. Max lurched one step forward, but Kate cried out at that.

"Stop! Don't come near me!" The young woman said despair in her voice being evident. "Max, seriously don't come near me. I'll jump."

"Okay, okay. I'm right here. Kate, please…" Max said feeling weak.

"Oh, Max. I know you want to help me. You already did. And I lied to you." Kate was visibly pained by that thought. "I loved how you stood up for me against David and how you encouraged me to tell the police about everything, but it doesn't matter now. Nothing matters…"

"You matter, Kate. And not just to me." Max said, stepping a bit closer to Kate. "Your life is still yours and we can get through this together, just let me help you. I already beat Victoria for what she said to you back in the bathroom this morning. Literally! And by God I swear I will make her push up the daisies so fast the world would be overgrown by them in a minute, if she ever gives you shit again. Or like I erased the crap people had written on your room plate…" Max said, not sure if this was making things better or worse.

"I'm glad to hear that you worry about me… and I would have never thought that I would say this, but violence against Victoria is not the right answer, Max." Kate had a stern look on her face for a second there. But it melted away just as quickly to bring back the expression of pure sadness. However, for another small moment, which was gone as quickly as the first one, a small smile made it to Kate's lips as she said: "It does make me feel better, though, to know that you care."

"I'll always be there for you, Kate. You are one of the only people I can call my friends and I'll never abandon my friends in their time of need!" Max said slowly walking a few steps in the direction of the crying woman. She felt pain and was loathing herself for she knew one friend she had once abandoned, even if not on her own accord. ' ** _Never again!_** _You hear me, Fate and Destiny? You hear me, Karma? You hear that, world? And if you try to stop me I will make you regret that you allowed me to have ever been born!_ ' Max thought spiteful and angry at herself and the world. She meant it. For all she knew, she might even have the power to realise her threat and why not make good on her word, in the case the world turned against her or her friends?

"I did feel better talking to you on the phone." Kate sniffled. "I always feel like you really listen."

"Kate, please trust me. Come stand by me, okay? I can really help you. I know I can!" Max pleaded with the woman. "I am gathering proof that Nathan Prescott drugged you and you're not the only victim, but I need your help to take him down." Max said. "God knows I would love nothing more than to cripple that asshole so badly not even his mother could love him anymore, but that would not bring you or anybody the justice you deserve." Max added with rage and logic wrestling over the control over her thoughts.

"Nathan Prescott? That makes sense… He is a scumbag." Kate said surprising herself with the anger in her voice. "Do you have proof now?"

"Soon and then we go straight to the police, so I don't have to turn myself in for murder." Max allowed herself to grin a bit, trying to make the other girl smile too. "Think of it like we're purifying this shithole of a school."

"You always have my back, Max." Kate did smile a little at this. "This is the first time in a week I've felt something like hope again."

"You can count on that, bible-girl." Max stepped yet a bit closer. "So, please come with me now… You don't have to do this."

"Max, I'm in a nightmare and I can't wake up… unless I put myself to sleep." The despair was back in the other girl's voice. "Then everyone in Blackwell can post pics of my body… I'm already on the internet forever. No wonder they call it a 'web' – nothing can get out of it. Like my video…" She sobbed. "I wish I could go back in time and erase everything."

"Everybody will forget. Kate, the internet is a scary place, but there are billions of videos and it will vanish like white noise." Max said and felt pained by the memories that floated up in her head. "Although for different reasons, I do know how the looks or laughs you get feel like." She took a steadying breath before she continued. "I do understand how you feel. I have been bullied too. More than I would like to recall. But you can get through this. Someday this will all seem like a blip..."

"Yeah, my life is a blip, Max. Blackwell taught me that. Could as well prove it right now." Kate said angrily.

"No, Kate! You can't do this to the people, who care about you!" Max pleaded. "Think of your father! I saw the postcard in your room. He clearly loves you - no matter what!"

"Dad does care… even though I hurt him. He's the only one I know, who believes in me…" The young woman answered weakly, still not reassured.

"I believe in you too, Bible-Kate! You are not alone, see?" Max said stepping a bit closer. ' _Only a few more steps!_ ' she thought. "And if anybody down there wants to see you up here, I'll bury them alive! This isn't how it has to end! And if you think God has brought you here, you're wrong!" Max added remembering a passage from the bible the religious girl had told her about just a few days before all of this shit happened. "Remember Matthew 11:28."

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." The religious woman said sniffling, lightly in disbelief. "I can't believe you mentioned my favourite passages."

"Like I said – I care about you. I know how much this passage means to you." Max said as she stretched out her hand towards the girl on the ledge. It took one tense moment, but then the other girl took hold of Maxes' hand and let herself be pulled back away from the edge of the roof and being crushed in a hug from the rocker-girl, who whispered soothingly in her ear ' _It's all right. It's going to be alight now._ '

As Max eased the crying girl, who was trembling in her arms, from the shock of the experience, the fear, pain and trauma of it all, not to even mention the cold from the rain, down to the floor, she said in a very low, distant sounding voice: "I know how it is like to be at this very dark place, where you see no way for turning back, but there is! Believe me, when I say how much I would have liked for someone to say these words you just spoke to me back in that day. Maybe… when you want it, I'll tell you more about it." She doubted, however, that the girl crying on her shoulder had heard what she had said, as it was drowned out by the exited shouts from down at the campus and by David's voice, as he was racing up to them and asking if both girls where alright.

-Hurt-

Nearly everything after that became a blur. Max registered when they brought Kate away, first to the nurse's office and later to the nearby hospital. She couldn't come with the girl as she was first questioned by the police, who had arrived at the scene, when David had called them just to make sure that really everything was fine and after that she had been told to go to the principal's office.

By the time Max and apparently everyone else who had been summoned by the principal were standing outside of his door, while he finished the needed paperwork and the calls he had to make because of the incident, it had already stopped raining and the sun was setting over Arcadia Bay.

When they, that is – her, David, Nathan Prescott and Mr. Jefferson – had been requested to enter the room, Principal Wells turned to them immediately.

"Now, I know today was difficult for everybody, but I'm proud of the way Blackwell pulled together to save a young girl's live." He started.

"That is bullshit and you know it!" Max growled at the principal, who seemed to be taken aback by the aggressiveness and disrespect Max showed him. "Except for David, I didn't see anybody even lift a finger to stop this from happening! Where you, maybe, running to catch Kate in case she decided to jump after all? I believe fucking not!"

"Now, I know how this must look to you, as you had to experience quite the traumatic situation, but I can reassure you that everyone was doing their part." The principal replied, but the lie remained just that – a lie. "Of course, you yourself are quite a hero for getting Kate to come down from the roof, Max." Somehow even this statement managed to upset the rocker-girl as it felt like mockery. She refrained from any comments, however, and settled glaring at the principal with such intensity, that he was certain – if looks could kill, he would have been dead at least a million times over by now.

"She's modest. Like a real hero." Offered Mr. Jefferson apparently mistaking the silence from Max for modesty. Max nearly snapped at him then and there.

"As principle of Blackwell Academy, I take my duties seriously. I take the well-being of every student more seriously." The principal started again. ' _Like hell you are, you bastard!_ ' Max wanted to scream. "What happened today should never happen in a hall of wisdom and knowledge." He continued, before turning to the security guard. "Mr. Madsen, as head of our security here, those roof doors should always be locked. That's just standard operating procedure. They were not. And that is indeed your responsibility."

"Mr. Jefferson, I know you can't be expected to know what your students are going through, but Kate was assisting you in class, so you should have known something was amiss." The principal said turning his attention to the teacher in question. He then turned to the youngest son of the Prescott family. "Mr. Prescott, since you are responsible for the Vortex Club parties and since Miss Marsh did attend your last party, you'll have to answer some more questions."

At that Principal Wells sat down in the expensive looking leather chair and turned to Max.

"Miss Caulfield, why exactly were you on the roof with Kate Marsh?" He asked. "Did she tell you her plan? Or anything at all? Please, tell us everything."

"All I know is that Kate was at the party and that Nathan dosed her." It took all of Maxes' willpower not to explode on the principal right then. His tone was infuriating her beyond belief. "She got wasted and kissed some boys on a viral video without having a clue over what was happening or control over what she was doing."

"I dosed her? Without a clue? Have you even seen the video?" Nathan laughed and tried to play innocent. "Whatever. Kate was loaded and playing the field-"

"You miserable fucking cunt! You fucking lied to Kate that you took her to the emergency room!" Max yelled at the young man, startling him with the rage in her voice and making him shift so that it would not be so easy for the girl to lunge at him if she tried to.

"Max, please-" Principal Wells started , but was interrupted, when Nathan spoke up.

"I said I was going to take her to the ER. She sobered up eventually." He said pointedly.

"Bullshit! Something happened to her and you know it!" Max was now seriously losing her temper and nearly tore off one of the armrests of the chair on which she was sitting. "How about we talk about you waving a gun in the girl's bathroom, huh?"

"Hey, that's total slander! I could sue you and this school so fast!" The young man went on the defensive immediately. "I already have a personal lawyer."

"Careful, ." To Maxes' surprise the principal sounded sincere and angry at the young man before him. "I have been told about this alleged gun incident. An I have to admit that the video in question was sent to me by multiple sources."

"Including me." David spoke up for the first time during the whole conversation.

"And since Mr. Prescott does prominently appear in the video and was responsible for the party, I have no choice but to suspend him until further notice." The principal continued.

"Whatever. See you in court." Nathan just threw his arms up.

"Excuse me, I believe Max and Nathan need a break before we grill them further." Mr. Jefferson spoke up again. "A friend and student just tried to kill herself… they don't need this forum right now…"

"Yes, I'm kinda devastated right now. I'd like to be with my family." Nathan jumped right on the train there, smiling smugly.

"Alright, Miss Caulfield, please sign here to confirm what you have told us." Principal Wells handed Max the paperwork in question and a pen. "I'll continue this investigation from here." Max signed the document and practically threw the expensive looking pen on the desk so she wouldn't throw it at the principal directly.

"Well, I think we know less now than when we started." The Principal stood up and caught the pen skidding over the desk. "We will be assisting the police with further inquiries. I know this has been a stressful day. I wish I had the power to change it all for the better… so thank you for coming in." He said indicating that the meeting was over.

Max went out of the principal's office slamming the door behind her, nearly hitting Mr. Jefferson in the face, but she couldn't care less. What she needed now was booze, music and someone to talk to.

On her way to the girls' dorms Warren tried to intercept her and offered to watch the sunset together and chill, but one look form the angry rocker-girl shut him up and back away. He probably didn't deserve such a harsh treatment from Max, but today had reopened too many doors in Maxes' head. Doors to memories Max had been trying to bury. And now it all felt like it had happened yesterday all over again.

She went into her room in the dorms slamming the door shut behind her, but being slightly surprised to see that not a thing had been touched and it hadn't seemed like someone else had been in there.

While she threw her bag and jacket carelessly on the bed, she was already typing away in her phone.

' _Get your ass over here. Right now._ ' She hit the sent button and was notified almost immediately that the blue-nette she had sent this was typing away on her end.

' _I heard about Kate. I'm sorry, Max. You ok?_ ' Chloe's text read. ' _This_ eclipse is freaking me out. Do you see it?'

' _No. And I'm definitely NOT ok! Get moving! U. My room. 30 minutes._ ' Max replied, not really caring if the blue-haired girl had other plans for the evening, but she desperately needed to see her right now. ' _bring booze!_ :(' she added after seeing that her own little storage was probably not going to last through the evening.

' _On my way, Mad Max_ ' Chloe's answer came nearly immediately. Max threw the phone on her bed and booted up her laptop before hitting the play button on the music player. The first song to come up was ' _Hurt_ ' form _Thousand Foot Krutch_.


	5. Chapter 5

**WARNING:**

 **All characters and the story upon which this fanfiction is based are property of Dontnod Entertainment and Square Enix. I don't own anything.  
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 **As this is my first story to be published here, I will be happy about every reviews - both good and bad as only so I can know what I have to improve. :)**

 **Rated M for crude and strong language at times, violence and mature content in later chapters.**

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-Suture-

* * *

When Chloe arrived at Blackwell, the eclipse had already passed. Although she had gone relatively fast, it had still taken her more than thirty minutes to get from the lighthouse, where she had been chilling to her house to grab a few beers from the fridge, to the dinner to get some take-away food (when she had told her mom who it was for, she had got a big portion of Belgian waffles) and then drive to the Academy. It was about six o'clock in the evening when she arrived and the fact that it indeed was October was undeniable – it was not even that late but the sun had already sunk so low on the horizon that only the last rays grazed the small town illuminating it with a warm orange light. To her surprise the parking lot of the Academy was still quite packed enough for her truck not to stick out too much and the security apparently had also too much on their hands to check if a certain expelled blue-nette had left her truck in one of the empty parking spaces at the furthest corner of the lot.

She picked up the plastic bag with the beer and the food and made her way to the girls' dorm. It surprised her to a certain degree, that nobody had tried to stop her or that she actually had had no problems crossing the campus. She was certain, however, that her stepdad would raise hell if he found out about this. Bringing alcohol on the campus was strictly forbidden and he was only looking for a reason to bring down even more shit on her head (at least she thought that).

It was not hard to find the girls' dorms, she had lived there for a while too after all, so she didn't even need the light of the streetlamps to go on to find her way. And although she had never been in Max's room before (she had only brought her to the campus on the evening they had their little adventure with alcohol and weed), she had no real problems finding it. Actually she just followed to the source of the loud music (a room on the end of the hallway to the left on the second storey of the building). Knowing a bit about Max's taste in music now, had its perks.

What surprised her more was that apparently nobody was having any qualms about it. ' _Man, back in the day, when I was here I'd have been drawn and quartered for so much of making a bit more noise than usual, but Max is positively rocking the freaking building._ ' She thought as the sound of an electrical guitar being played to the rhythm of loud music in the background came closer. She had heard it clearly, when she had entered the dorm. ' _Probably everyone's busy to forget what happened today. Or they are making a wide curve around Max…_ '

Only now, when she walked along the hallway did she see all the posters for the next Vortex Club party handing on nearly every possible message-board. She had no doubt that most of the students would be out shortly after the curfew for the evening had started. ' _Damn Vortex Club bastards. A student tries to kill herself because of them and they go to celebrate._ '

As she came closer to the room from which the music came, she heard the voice of her friend. It was raw and raspy, but still somehow managed to capture her completely. Or maybe it was because of the emotions she felt after hearing it once before?

Just as she was about to knock at the door, the music suddenly stopped and changed to something completely different, and she could have sworn that she heard a muffled sob before her friend started to sing. She couldn't bring herself to knock or open the door at that point. When the song before this one (she didn't know the artist, but it had certainly been good in Max's performance) had captured her, then this one sent shivers down her spine. It was short, but Max sung it with such emotion that it made Chloe's heart tighten in her chest and an ache settled there, which she knew would not go away – never. She heard Max's voice as she leaned on the door:

"How you turn my world you precious thing."

"You starve and near exhaust me."

"Everything I've done, I've done for you."

"I move the stars for no one."

"You've run so long, you've run so far."

"Your eyes can be so cruel. Just as I can be so cruel."

"Oh, I do believe in you. Yes, I do."

"Live without your sunlight…"

"Love without your heartbeat..."

"I-… I can't live within you…"

When it had ended, she knocked at the door, but after not receiving an answer in the next five seconds, she just let herself in. Chloe quickly entered the room and was greeted with a sight that she didn't really know what to think about. It was more than obvious the day had taken its toll on the rocker-girl already. Max was standing in a tightly fitting black armless shirt, with a rather deep V-neck and the logo of a band she didn't know. It read ' _Black Strobe_ '. Max had still her signature black jeans on, but had apparently kicked off her boots. She could see one lying in one corner of the room, but couldn't see the other after sweeping her gaze around the room, before it settled on the girl in front of her again. She knew Max had the tattoo on her neck, but she had not asked if Max had any other ones, so the sight of the huge morphing blue butterfly with the strange design took her completely by surprise. But what actually shocked her was the long pale and ugly scar running from Max's left shoulder over to nearly her elbow. It was at least made a bit less visible by the muscles of the rocker-girls arms. Chloe had seen that Max was well-shaped, but when the rocker-girl, who had been standing with her back to the door, took the hem of her shirt to wipe the sweat from her brow and turned to see who had been so bold as to enter her room, the punk-girl saw that her friend was indeed ripped. The sight of Max's exposed navel somehow made the slightly older girl blush. ' _Get your shit together, Chloe! You have seen Max's body many times now!_ ' said the voice in her head. ' _Yeah, but we were like what? Eleven?_ ' she answered herself. ' _Yeah, and now you're ogling your best friend on the second day since you met? Besides, don't you have Rachel to think about?_ ' somehow she had managed to sour her own mood.

"Chloe, didn't think you'd make it today." Max said flatly and if Chloe hadn't seen the light glint in her friends' eyes, she might have thought that Max was actually angry at her. But she could instantly tell by the glint in the reddened eyes of the brown and red haired girl that she was happy to see her. It was the same as all those years ago, though something was different and it was not because the young woman playing the guitar had been apparently crying.

"Well, someone had to bring you the booze you asked for." She closed the door behind her with her foot as she made her way to the rock-girl, who was putting her guitar away. "Plus, I brought you a small something. Joyce insisted to make the portion extra big though." She grinned as the younger girls' eyes widened. "Best Belgian waffles you've ever had. Promise."

The smaller woman practically threw herself at Chloe wrapping her in a tight hug, which Chloe could hardly return as she still held the bag with said items in her hand. For a brief moment she closed her eyes, but when she opened them her gaze immediately was fixed on the four already empty beer-cans on the floor. ' _Damn, girl… I know it's a shitty day, but those are four pints in about fifty minutes. Still – have to admit, that she sure knows how to rock. Mmmm… and her voice sounds just perfect for this._ ' The punk-girl thought feeling a mix between worry and something like admiration well up in her.

"I love you, Chloe!" Max's words sent Chloe's thoughts stumbling, but she couldn't respond for Max already eased out from the embrace and quickly snagged the bag from her hand, walking over to the table, where she packed out its contents.

"Yeah, I'm awesome like that, Rock-babe." Chloe quickly wiped the flustered look from her face, set up her trademark shit eating grin and joined her friend, who already was munching down on a waffle while putting on some different music on her laptop and lowering the volume enough that it would be comfortable to even talk quietly.

"Although you are rather slow for a sidekick, you are the best I've ever had or ever will have. Or ever will want to have. The only one – the one and only – Punk-girl." Max grinned still chewing on her food.

"You called, master. So here I am." Chloe was seriously glad, that Max's mood seemed to improve, for although the songs she had heard playing earlier were awesome, they all had indicated to one – Max had a very rough day. "Besides how could I ever escape the capturing sound of you singing, oh, beautiful siren of the Blackwell Sea?"

"Oh, my! What luck!" Max played along gracing Chloe with a lopsided grin, before the punk-girl saw the wicked fire that had kindled in Max's eyes. "Have I finally caught the world-famed Captain Price with my voice?" Max asked, her reddened eyes half closed and dreamy, her lips slightly open, as if she just waited to be kissed. "Or is she just here for my body?" The rock-gal playfully brushed a finger against her lips. The sight hit Chloe like a hammer.

"Damn, Max! That is a serious nuclear arsenal you are packing there!" Chloe breathed out. Still stunned by the display she had just witnessed although it had lasted only a few seconds. Max burst out laughing and after a few moments Chloe joined in.

"I will take that as a compliment." Max grinned as she lightly bumped Chloe on the shoulder, before settling on her bed.

"You bet, sista, that was a compliment." Chloe said after she had regained her composure and sat next to Max on her bed after taking her own meal from the table (Joyce had packed two boxes with waffles and had given them some plastic forks and knives, but both Max and Chloe just picked up their food with their hands). "For the singing that is. You seriously have talent."

"Well, I was in a band and had time to practice after all." Max answered shrugging a little. She liked to sing and indeed was good at it, but it was nothing she really liked to brag about. But the idle banter with Chloe soothed her mind and heart and she desperately needed that right now.

They continued the chit-chat for a while, ate and threw the plastic-lunch-boxes in the trash, sang a few songs, when they came up on Max's playlist and they knew the lyrics, and Chloe even got Max to play and sing ' _Otherside_ ' by RHCP. They also talked about Max's theory about Kate's case being connected to Rachel's and it had riled Chloe up quite a bit, but at the end of the discussion the blue-nette knew – her friend would do anything in her power to help her find the missing girl. Still, throughout the all the small conversations and even when they had talked about Rachel one thought kept bothering Chloe. At some point Chloe's mind wandered and when it had settled on that thing, she just blurted out what she was thinking, before she could bite it back.

"But seriously, Max. What was that last song about before I came in? I mean, I just heard it from the other side of the door, but you can melt steel with that song." She had said it and immediately regretted it as she saw that Max's expression fell from amused to sad, if not even depressed, in the split of a second. Hurt was written all over the brown-red haired girl's face, leaving the blue-nette to chastise herself in her thoughts.

"It's actually a song from the 1986 movie 'Labyrinth' with David Bowie playing the main antagonist, who had fallen in love with a stupid young girl." Max answered with a sad smile, that made Chloe's heart tighten in her chest. "It reminds me a bit of myself, you know? Casandra loved that movie… Figures, that she always liked Sarah's character more…" ' _Ok, now wait, a second… Who is Casandra?_ ' Somehow the way Max said the name made her feel uncomfortable. And why was she so concerned about it? At the same time Chloe really didn't know how to react to this side of Max. The Max she remembered from her childhood had been the shy but undeniable epitome of a happy-go-lucky person with subtle charm and an easy smile. The Max she had seen in these two days was nothing like it. She _felt_ the same in a way, but it was obvious that she wasn't the same person as before.

"So… who's Casandra?" Her mouth had again been faster than her brain.

"A devil… A friend…" Max answered quietly looking down at the beer-can in her hands as if drifting off into deep thought. "Someone I thought I could love… someone I thought could love me…" Chloe felt like she had been hit by a truck. ' _Wait. Wow, wow, wow! Hold on! This is heavy stuff. I mean - What?!_ ' Still, even with her thoughts stumbling one over the other and the perfect opportunity to learn something more about Max's life during the last five years, her standard reaction got the better of her and without even wanting it, she played the whole thing down as if to say ' _Hey, let's not deal with this now, shall we?_ '.

"U-la-la! Maxinator seems to have it really out for girls." She teased her friend hoping that it would dispel the heavy mood. "Should I be worried about my virtue, when I'm with you?"

"Maybe." Was all Max said with a wicked grin spreading on her lips, seemingly happy not to raise the previous topic or continue down that certain path of conversation from before. Chloe's reaction must have been shocked enough for the other girl to fall into a short fit of giggles before she looked back up at her friend. It surprised Chloe to find that the way Max looked at her while biting down on her lower lip, even if it was just to prevent another fit of giggles to escape, had something in it that she couldn't describe as anything else than alluring.

"You sure know how to turn the tables." Chloe said taking a long pull from her beer-can before both girls broke out in laughter.

"I know how to turn many things." Max replied cheekily.

"Now that is a statement I can back any time of the day. The way you handled everything today – you seriously are balls to the walls one hell of a badass!" Chloe exclaimed remembering the cause for her being here. It was all over the net and the local news how Max had talked out Kate Marsh from committing suicide. Again Chloe was reminded of her inability to be sensitive enough, when she saw that her friend had gone completely quite again and seemed deep in thought. It took a while of them sitting in silence like that, before Max spoke up again with a small voice, explaining in detail what had happened a few hours before.

"I couldn't even believe what was happening." Max ended her explanation. "It was literally slow motion when I grabbed her hand… and then I could feel her grabbing mine…" She sounded surprised and slightly pained for some reason.

"Max, you saved Kate's life! You are a superhero! Stopping time, running to the top of the roof and getting her to come down – that is like the most awesome thing I've known someone do, like in – ever!" Chloe tried to cheer up the girl next to her, wondering why she looked so miserable when she should be celebrating. Maybe it was the stress? She wanted it to be just the stress, but the feeling in her guts told her that is was probably not. ' _Has it something to do with that Casandra-gal? Or is it even something else?_ ' she thought.

"Yeah, right." Max snorted. "I'm a mess, Chloe. I mean – look at me." She said gesturing at herself and the whole room as such, as if to indicate how she felt right now.

"You're not. You are BatMax. The Blackwell Ninja!" Chloe said and added, when she saw her friend's expression, "That's how they have dubbed you on the net. But, seriously, rock-girl, you're more like a glowing human halo. If this and all you have done for me hasn't earned you your wings, then the world be damned." Chloe said trying to lighten the mood, but it seemed to have the exactly opposite effect. "I know it must be awful for you, seeing Kate almost kill herself over a video, but you saved her! I know you are worried, but she is going to be alright. You stood up for her and that is hella awesome!"

Again the uncomfortable silence settled between them and Chloe was desperately trying to come up with something to lighten the mood again. They sat there in silence for quite a while and Chloe was deeply in thought, when she was surprised by the other girl draining what seemed to be already the second beer-can, before leaning her head against Chloe's shoulder. ' _How much has she drunk? It's like the sixth can already?_ '

She instinctively slung her arm around the smaller woman's shoulders and pulled her closer, hoping that the closeness to an old friend would sooth the young rock-gal. A hope that was shattered nearly instantly and was replaced by a deep worry. She felt that Max was trembling. As she looked over to her best friend, she realised that silent tears were trailing down the young woman's cheeks.

"Max, what's wrong?" She asked putting her own half-emptied beer-can away so she had both hands free to turn the girl so she would face her. "You don't have to worry! It will be fine. Kate will be fine, and we will find Rachel, and we will make Nathan pay and whoever else is involved in this shit, and we will be fine, and we will stop the tornado somehow… Max, everything is gonna be alright!" She tried to sound reassuring, but it seemed the young woman that held onto her hands, as if it was the last straw she had, had not even heard what Chloe had just said. The look in her eyes was distant, full of hurt. Like something had broken in her...

"I was there once, you know?" Max said in a feeble voice. So quietly that Chloe had trouble hearing her.

"Max, talk to me…" Chloe pleaded with her best friend her own voice barely above a whisper, leaning in so that she was slightly closer to the other girl.

"I was at the exact same dark place, where Kate was today, Chloe." Max looked into the blue eyes of the older girl as if searching for something, but not finding it. "It was a bit more than two years ago, when I too was in the exact same situation, where I just couldn't bear to be in this world anymore. I just couldn't." Max said quietly. Chloe could do nothing but stare at the girl before her. It had always been Rachel that had comforted her, when she was down. Whenever Rachel had been down they would have just laid back, hit a blunt or thrashed something and gone to raise hell for the evening. But she just didn't know how to respond to this… How do you respond to seeing your best friend just break down?

"It was in the eight month at the fifth school in Seattle, a bit more than three years after we had moved." Max continued ripping the punk-girl from her thoughts back to the ' _here and now_ '. "It was the night just before Christmas, you know? The second Christmas without… without-" She had to blink the tears away, so she could see the blue-nette sitting in front of her and holding her steady with her arms. "I just couldn't take the bullying and the humiliation anymore… And I was standing on the roof of the school building, just like Kate. But no one had even noticed me. Nobody even cared!" She nearly screamed the last part. "I had no friends, no angel like your Rachel, no Cas, no you… And I just wanted it all to end. The harassment, the tormenting by the peers and the other students… The looks they gave me…I had nobody to talk me down that night on the roof. Nobody! Not even the security of the school cared to look up why the keys to the roof were missing or to check the cameras showing a fifteen year old girl walk up the stairs to the roof." Max continued with such self-loathing in her voice that it shook Chloe to the core. "But I couldn't! I was a coward, Chloe!" Max continued after a short silence, which seemed to take all eternity in Chloe's mind. "I slipped on the wet tiles on the edge of the roof, but I couldn't do it. I couldn't let myself just fall. I grabbed the edge as I slipped over it, held fast and eventually pulled myself up again… Instead of letting go I lived and turned into what I am now... Why, Chloe? Why had I to be so damned afraid? Why couldn't I just let go?" At this Max's tears turned into big sobs, that were about to smother her, as the girl broke down completely in her friends' arms, as Chloe pulled Max into a tight embrace wrapping her arms protectively around the younger woman. Chloe could feel how Max returned the embrace and buried her face in the crook of her neck. She could feel Max's fingers dig into her skin through the shirt she was wearing, as if the young rocker-girl was grasping for the last lifeline she had in this world.

"Oh, Max!" Chloe whispered in a raspy voice, being herself close to tears, pressing her cheek against the soft brown-red hair of her friend. "I had no idea…" She didn't know if the girl in her arms had heard her at all, through her sobbing. ' _What happened to you, Max? What has happened that you can't tell me?_ ' She could feel the helpless anger grow in her, but it was squashed by the guilt and self-loathing that twisted her stomach into knots and she could feel the bile, like venom, in her throat. ' _You selfish bitch! You have no idea what she has been going through and jet you accused her of abandoning you and gave her so much shit in these past days!_ ' the voice in her head screamed. ' _What a fucking good friend you are!_ ' The memory of the same girl she had now pressed against her crying in her truck in bitter silence while Chloe had thrown accusations at her head and the other times she had felt angered or righteous in her position to give Max any piece of her mind came up in her head and made Chloe wince. Max had shown her support from day one. She had rescued her two times in as many days, nearly shot a guy who had been threatening her, and still had managed to cheer her up. And now, she had been forced to relive memories nobody would like to remember after saving another friend from killing herself. And what had Chloe done to improve things? Nothing. "Oh, Max…" was all she could force out of herself at that moment, without breaking down too. She simply didn't know where to start apologizing or how to make amends and so she settled on softly rocking the girl in her arms until the sobs subsided and her breathing steadied.

Only when Max's arms slid down her back a bit limply and her breath came out slow and deep, Chloe noticed that the young rocker-girl had fallen asleep in her arms. A quick look on the phone which lay right next to her on the bed told her it was indeed late – they had talked for more than three hours even if it seemed to have been less than forty minutes. "No wonder. You must have been exhausted." Chloe murmured to the sleeping woman as she eased her from her arms and laid her on the bed, pulling the blanket over her, even if Max was dressed to boot. Chloe hadn't intended to, but she lingered there a bit, softly stroking the other woman's hair, still wondering what had happened to Max to change so much. Having been told about the near-suicide of her best friend, had left her thinking about what she had done at that time. Where had she been? Why hadn't she contacted Max herself? Hadn't she herself abandoned Max just as much as she felt Max had?

Still somehow she felt like it was not all that was going on in Max's head. ' _Maybe this is only the tip of the spear? Would you have even ever told me, Max?_ ' She thought bitterly at how she had actually wanted her friend to feel hurt when she had felt abandoned herself and how this want had resurfaced for a brief but painful moment just a day ago. ' _Am I even worthy of you trusting me again? How can you still call me friend, when I have been such an asshole to you?_ '

Despite these bitter thoughts a smile spread on her lips when she felt the hand of the sleeping woman cover her own, which had slid from the short cut hair to rest against the soft, warm cheek of the young rocker-girl. She had not even realised that she had been drawing lazy circles with her thumb on the other woman's cheek. What surprised her though was the thought that seemed to pop up in her head: ' _She looks so beautiful and peaceful, when she sleeps. Has she always been this way? I mean, I haven't seen her in five years, but damn, look at those eyelashes or that cute nose… I wonder-_ '. She couldn't finish the thought as the sleeping Max had nuzzled against her hand and given her palm a small but unmistakable, soft lipped kiss, all without waking up. Of course Chloe should have thought it through, but somehow this unconscious action of her best friend, had sent a jolt through her. She feared the answer why it had made her react like she did – withdrawing her hand quickly and blushing furiously. Luckily Max didn't wake up as Chloe practically bolted up from the bed.

Only after seeing Max repeat the same 'kiss' motion again a couple of times whilst lying there sprawled on her bed, shifting a few times under her blanket to find a more comfortable position, the fact registered in Chloe's brain that this actually might be just a tick the young woman might have when she is sleeping. Didn't she herself know that she had such a tick herself? (She snored slightly, when sleeping on her stomach.)

Chloe felt immediately embarrassed and got as red as a beet, while she placed her head in her hands. ' _God! What is wrong with you, Chloe? Your friend from five years ago comes back, has more than just a shitty day, gets drunk and cries on your shoulder, tells you how she has tried to kill herself and what do you do? You first start to fantasize just because she might be into girls and then you freak out at what might just be a tick she has!_ ' The blue-nette groaned. She picked up the unfinished beer and downed it in three big gulps. ' _Just what the fuck is wrong with me?_ '

"Could really use a smoke." She sighed, but noticed that Max had no ashtray in her room. Actually she had not seen the girl smoke. ' _Getting stoned – yeah, but smoking – no._ ' She corrected herself. She did not really want to leave the sleeping woman all alone as she wouldn't be able to lock the door behind her, but climbing out of Max's window was practically impossible as there were too many hurdles she would have to pass and she didn't want to smoke at the window. ' _Who knows how Max would react to that?_ ' she thought, but after taking a look at the sleeping girl, whom she now knew to become very angry very quickly, she guessed that she didn't really wish to find out.

It was already dark outside already, when she left the dorms and came to the parking lot to smoke. Many of the cars, that had been parked there, were gone now and she saw a few more students sneak out of the dorms and drive away. ' _Right, the Vortex Club assholes._ ' She thought with disgust.

However, seeing how few people were left in Blackwell that evening-soon-to-be-night, gave Chloe an idea. A partially selfish idea, but in her opinion a damn good one. ' _Plus, I bet it will cheer Max up. And all I have to do is make a quick stop at my house._ ' She grinned at her own ingenious plan.

* * *

-What goes 'bump' in the night-

* * *

"Kate!" Max woke up with a start and for the first few moments she was not sure where she was or what was happening. Her head felt a bit fuzzy, but otherwise it seemed okay.

"Chloe?" She asked when she remembered that she had basically ordered her best friend to come over. As the memories continued to pop up she groaned aloud. ' _I did tell her about that incident, didn't I?_ ' "Chloe?" She asked again, rubbing her face with one hand, but no answer came.

' _No fucking wonder why. It must be nearly midnight. So it's only logical she'd left already._ ' Max thought gingerly taking a look round the room and out of the window, when she suddenly felt a light buzz at her feet. Taking a closer look proved that the source of the buzzing was her phone. Two new messages from Chloe. All sent just a few second ago.

'RockMax! U up?' was the first message.

'I have something to show you meet me in front of campus' read the second. Max was already starting to type a reply, when the third one rolled in. 'get that ass in gear NOW'

'Might as(s) well :P Be there in a sec' Max sent the answer not really feeling like smiling even if she sent one in a message, but she sure as hell wanted to get some fresh air and talk to Chloe. This time seriously and without falling into a drunken sleep. She had opened too many doors in her heart, so now she needed to spill the contents of what lay behind them. She owed that much to Chloe. They were friends after all, weren't they?

Max checked if she had everything with her in case her friend, who had just ordered her around just as she had before, would take her on some nightly adventure. Max sighed at her own tendency to scatter the things she normally carried with her in the rucksack by the first opportunity, but would nearly always end up sleeping with nearly all her clothes on. Luckily, this time without having the boots still on. Having packed the necessary things, even a Swiss Army knife and the unnecessary thing – the camera, she left her room, locked it and made her way along the hallway of the dorms. She used the small flashlight she had bought a few years ago. ' _Nightly endeavours and only a phone as a light source? Yeah right. Screw that horror movie logic._ ' Max rolled her eyes and grinned at the thought. She knew though that many people actually used this method, but why waste batteries of a phone which is also unwieldy, when you have a simple flashlight right at hand?

She had just passed the bathroom, when the thought of freshening up a bit struck her mind and prompting her to make a U-turn and walk back a bit. ' _Even if it's night – no need to run around looking like a drunken ZombieMax._ ' I was late, but the lights in the bathroom were nearly always on, so she turned off the flashlight, when she entered. To her surprise the bathrooms were not as deserted as she thought they would be. Taylor was standing there at the sink and was just washing her face, when she saw Max in the mirror and turned around shock and fear painted on her face as if she had seen the Devil in flesh. She looked like she'd been crying.

"Oh, if it isn't side-bitch No.1?" Max said. Seeing the other girl triggered to remember the day's events again.

"M-Max… I-I- Is Kate alright?" The blonde asked nervously. "I saw you go up on the roof and save her. I- I can't believe it that she tried to jump…" She backed away a bit as Max stepped closer.

"Oh, believe it, alright. Was that not what you, Victoria and side-bitch No.2 wanted all along?" Max asked raising a brow in mock-disbelief. "Or are you just disappointed nothing happened?"

"How can you be so cruel to say that? I never wanted Kate to kill herself!" The other girl grew visibly angry, but didn't seem to dare move from the spot. "All-"

"All you wanted was to poke a little fun at her, yeah?" Max stated with such venom in her voice, that the words seemed to hurt the girl next to her physically. "Was it fun to torment her? Was it fun to watch her break down? Was it fun to write that shit on her room plate? Or write the links all over the place? Or posting that shit on the internet? Or constantly pointing and laughing when she would pass? Don't you think I didn't hear or see what you did be it on your own volition or to please Queen-bitch?" Max didn't necessarily enjoy tormenting the blonde girl, but she'll be damned if she would let her get away easily after what Kate had been through. "Call me cruel? Look in the mirror. Have you any idea, what you actually made Kate go through, you fucking cunt?" She snarled.

"Look, it's not like I don't understand that what I did was wrong now, okay? And I'm my own person, not Victoria's bitch." The anger in the other girl's voice was gone, replaced by fear and sadness. She looked like she was close to tears. "I'm freaked by this whole situation as is Courtney and Victoria, you know? And I'm so sorry…"

"Oh, do you now? Wow. Such a reaction time!" Max turned to the girl after washing her face with some water. "Kate is at a hospital right now. Where are you? She tried to end her life. What did you do to prevent it all from happening? You are freaked by the whole situation and you're sorry? Oh boo-hoo. Scum like you shouldn't even deserve the privilege to breathe." Max slammed one fist into the wall next to Taylors head, who had retreated all the while Max had talked. She was now crying.

"I have my own problems too-" She started, some defiance was still left in her, even as the girl looked close to tears.

"So does Kate. And you made her life even more miserable, so much actually that she nearly killed herself." Max growled. "If you are really sorry, prove it. Lick Kate's boots clean or take care of her rabbit and her plants while she can't do that. I don't care how. But if I hear one word from you, Victoria or anybody about this or anything bad about Kate or see something amiss in Kate's room, just one thing, I will come for you." With that she left the whimpering girl to her own plight. She would probably have to take care of Kate's bunny and plants. She didn't trust Taylor to be truly sorry for her part in Kate's situation. Even if she truly was apologetic now, in Max's eyes the girl had no chance for redemption.

Max had already nearly reached the campus, when she saw that Principal Wells sitting on the stairs of the boys' dormitory, wallowing in self-pity at how much he'd have to deal with pissed off parents, who will want to blame him for their shortcomings in raising their kids. ' _Wow, what a prick_.' Max didn't even try to hide as she walked past him.

"Miss Caulfield. Where do you think you are going? You should be in your dorms. It is past curfew." He said as he saw her, but without any malice or sternness in his voice.

"Out." Was all Max answered as she glanced at the older man, not even stopping in her tracks. Her outburst at Taylor had riled her up again and she really wanted to see Chloe. With Chloe she felt at peace. It was just like that.

"Miss Caulfield? Miss Caulfield!" The principal called behind her, but from the corner of her eye she could see that he hadn't even risen to stop her and just threw his arms up in a defeated motion muttering to himself.

Although it was dark outside, the campus itself was actually pretty well-lit so that only the small park and the path from the parking lot to the campus remained the only places partially illuminated.

She didn't see Chloe as she walked through the park towards the main campus area, so when the blue-nette suddenly appeared out of nowhere (she had been hiding in the shadow of some trees) with a loud ' _Boo-yah_ ', Max nearly gave the punk-girl a punch to the face out of pure reflex, stopping her elbow barely an inch from her face. The startled woman gasped and nearly fell on her butt as the momentum of her trying to evade Max's punch carried her backwards, but Max reacted and got hold of her hand and pulled her towards herself steadying the young punk-girl in the process.

"Damn, Max! What was that all about?" Chloe asked still in shock.

"Chloe! Seriously, never creep up on me like that again. I could have really hurt you!" Max said looking at the girl before her in surprise. "Do you know how easily I could have mistaken you for someone who wanted to mug me? Damn, girl…"

"Geezus, fine." Chloe said and rolled with her eyes, but indeed made a mental note never to try scaring Max like that again. "I just wanted see what your reaction would be when being face to face with a scary punk-ghost." Chloe grinned sheepishly at that. "Aaand… now I know it." The blue-nette gestured as if she had found out something secret, leaning in closer to the girl next to her.

"Yeah, right. Now you see why people should be scared, because Max can pretty much bash in the head of anything that goes 'bump' in the night." Max grinned now too. Damn Chloe for her foolhardiness sometimes, but she had always this certain effect on Max. Even if she could make Max cry, she had also the power to lift her mood by leagues. Always had been that way. "So, what was the thing that you wanted to show me?" She asked, remembering why they had agreed to meet on the campus in the middle of the night in the first place.

"Remember what you said about connecting the search for Rachel with finding out what really happened to Kate? Well, guess who has got the spare keys to Blackhell?" Chloe said excitedly. "Thank you, step-prick."

"No way!" Max's eyes lit up. This could really give them a good start in the search for any clues. And it was a perfect distraction for herself... "You know what this means, right? This is _the_ opportunity! We have to start searching for clues immediately. Let's look for anything that we could find about Rachel and Kate. We need to find out more about, who Rachel was involved with around here and who were the ones responsible for Kate's suicide attempt. Even if I have my guesses, we need proof."

"I just want to find my friend, Max." Chloe said, the excitement making way for a new wave of fear and worry. "Do you think she's…"

"She's alive, Chloe." Max said firmly although she wasn't really convinced herself. "We have to think that, but we have to find clues and we have to find them soon. Only that way we'll be able to find her, but I promise you – we will." Chloe visibly perked up at this. It seemed Max had given her new confidence. Confidence Max didn't know if she shared just yet. ' _Like they said in BioShock – too many variables… we need to get clues._ ' Still, her mind was set and she knew what they would have to do.

"Okay, then lead the way." Chloe said. "We're officially partners in crime and time." That made Max snort but she agreed and gave the blue-nette a cheeky grin starting off into the direction of the main building.

They were already near the information-boards set up in the small plaza before the main building, when they heard voices coming from the side-entrance of the wing of the building, where most of the art classes were taking place. They quickly covered the space to the next information-board that was standing at such an angle that would allow them to hide in its shadow.

Somehow Max was not surprised as when the owners of the voices proved to be Victoria Chase and Mr. Jefferson.

"Thank you again so much for helping me put together my portfolio." Victoria said sweetly, prompting Chloe to make quiet gaging noises, which combined with the look of mock-disgust on Chloe's face made Max hold a hand before her mouth so as not to start laughing aloud.

"Hopefully the rest of the class will follow your lead." The teacher replied sounding somewhat tired. "I'm sorry I was distracted. As you know it's not been a good day for Blackwell."

"I know this has been an awful day and you can talk to me anytime, Mr. Jefferson." The young woman on the stairs said. ' _Ok, now this will make me throw up for real._ ' Max thought.

"Thank you, Victoria. I'm glad it had a relatively happy ending." The teacher replied in a somewhat cheerier tone.

"I don't know what I'd have done if Katie would have jumped…" Victoria said clearly playing the part of the shocked student. Max was seething with anger at hearing this form the young woman's mouth to a point where Chloe considered restraining her just in case. ' _You don't know what you'd had done, Victoria?_ ' Max had to seriously push the limits of her willpower to not just cross the short distance to the pair talking on the stairs and cripple the girl in front of the eyes of a teacher. ' _You will wish that you could die, when I'm done with you, you fucking bitch._ '

"'Katie'? I didn't know you were that close… did she?" The teacher inquired sounding a bit suspicious, but he didn't receive the answer he was possibly waiting for as Victoria quickly changed the topic to what was really going on in her mind.

"Well… how does this affect the 'Everyday Heroes' contest?" ' _Are you fucking kidding me, you cunt?!_ ' Max was about to rise, when she felt Chloe's hand on her shoulder and saw the blue-nette shaking her head holding a finger against her lips.

"It doesn't." Jeffer-creep answered dutifully. "The contest is still a go and I still have to pick the winner to best represent Blackwell. I've got all the photos except one from Max."

"I'll give you a one-word sneak preview of Max's photo – selfie." Victoria tried not to sound too spiteful. "Listen, you have seen my entry. You know it's better than that. Wouldn't it be so cool to hang out together in San Francisco, Mark?" 'Just blow him and be done with it you, bitch. I don't care about the contest, but I do care to wring your neck with my own two hands.' Max's fury had now settled to a cold anger and hatred for the short-haired blonde.

"Stick to Mr. Jefferson, Victoria. Please? And, uh… I haven't picked a winner yet." For once the Creep-for-Pros looked a bit uncomfortable and started to walk down the stair, but Victoria held him back.

"But you already love my work, so it's not like you're playing favourites." Victoria just didn't give in that easily. "Just imagine if you picked my photos though… we would have to spend a lot of time together. That could be… fun, don't you think?" " _Her whore-level is over 9000!_ " Chloe whispered to Max. That somehow made Max's anger to subside and painted an evil grin on her face.

"I'm going to think that you didn't say any of that." The teacher said flatly.

"You might as well choose me. Otherwise I might have to tell people you offered to choose my photos for favours or something…" Whatever could be said about Victoria, with the exception of when it came to face Max's wrath, she certainly had guts. However her threat seemed to have no effect on the photography teacher.

"As a favour to your future, I'll also ignore that undisguised threat…" The teacher replied coolly and started walking away again. "This conversation is officially over, Miss Chase. I suggest you go back to your dorm now."

"Wait, I only-" Victoria started, but gave up on reaching the man walking away fast, before she sighed as if having a headache. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

When Victoria had passed their hiding place without noticing them and Jefferson had gone around the corner in the direction of the teacher's parking lot, Max grabbed Chloe's hand and dragged her in the direction of the main entrance.

"C'mon, Chloe, move. I want to break something after hearing this bullshit from that cunt, so the sooner we get the clues we are looking for the sooner we can just go somewhere and kick back." She said, with a smile tugging on her face.

* * *

-Dead End Friends-

* * *

"So, we better find out what's in the Principal's office first. He should have some reports or tabs form the security cameras or something…" Chloe said as they'd slid through the main door of the building and had closed it behind themselves. "Besides, you can always rewind if we get caught. Your mad powers and my genius are unstoppable if combined." She continued as she unlocked the door to the hallway leading to the wing of the building where the Principal's office was located.

"Right." Max dragged the word out a bit, which made the punk-girl look back to her. "Let's try not to get busted then, okay? I'm not too good with cops." She grinned sheepishly. "Not after the last time I broke into my old school anyways."

"Max the Marauder! And a veteran of breaking into schools at that. Who would have thought that such a good-behaving, righteous girl like you would have trouble with the authorities?" Chloe teased a bit, before turning and walking off in the direction of the Principal's office. "C'mon, Max. Just one more door and our work here is done."

They reached the Principal's office quickly and Chloe started to look for the key to the door of the Principal's office on the key-ring, which gave Max the opportunity to take a look around the secretary's office in which they were stuck at the moment as one had to cross it to get to the Principal's office.

"The fuck? The security officer should have the key to the Principal's office." She heard Chloe say in disbelief just as she was looking at the pages scattered on the secretary's desk.

"I guess he's hiding shit." Max said getting up from the secretary's chair in which she had made herself comfortable over the past few minutes. "Just like everybody here." She added raising a brow, when she saw a few curious looking items in the drawer of the secretary's desk she had just opened before closing it again.

"Well, now we definitely have to get this door open." Chloe said with determination in her voice. "Believe it or not, but I know a thing or two about lock-picking. Thanks to Frank." The punk-girl said as she crouched down and started to fidget at the lock with a pair of hair-pins. "I might as well test out my thief skills…"

"Sadly we can't see if this is a level 3 lock or above. Then we could just outright say that your skills are too low. Or that you have picked the wrong class." Max teased.

"Well, look who's talking!" Chloe looked up to Max, who was giving her a smug smile. "Has the master of the thief's' guild finally returned or did I hear a noob quacking? You might as well look for the key while you observe the awesomeness I'm about to show you."

"That's right. Master's in da house, bitches." Max laughed. "Besides, there is no point in looking for it here. Checked everything in here, while you were looking for the key on the key-ring." She said pointing with her thumb over her shoulder to where the secretary's desk was. "That is, if you don't want to try and open the door with the rubber hidden in the secretary's desk."

"Gross, Max. And, no thank you, I don't want to have these images in my head." Chloe made a face as if needing to puke at the other girl, who just dissolved into a fit of giggles. "Come up with a plan or something before I open this door myself with my awesome DIY lock-picking tools."

"Ok, just give me a sign, when you're frustrated enough to let a professional handle the case." Max wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes and settled back in the chair at the secretary's desk.

It didn't take long 'till Max heard the frustrated half-shouts of Chloe not having any luck on opening the door.

"Ok, Max. You want a try on it. Please, go ahead. I'm standing in awe of your grandeur." Chloe said sitting back on the ground seemingly defeated by the door.

Max lazily got up from the secretary's chair and strolled to the door in a very slow pace all the while smiling like the cat who caught the bird.

"Ok, Mad Max. Lay it on me. What is the grand plan?" Chloe asked waiting for a serious plan or some notorious Muay Thai move from the young woman beside her.

"We just open the door." The smile on Max's face couldn't have been trumped by anything in the world in smugness as she just turned the door-knob and opened the door. "Saw the principal dead-drunk on the stairs of the Boy's dorm when I came here. Figured he'd be drunk enough not to lock his door and after you had no luck for the past minutes, just figured – why not try it the easy way?" Max laughed as Chloe just sat there in silent shock.

"Ok, faithful sidekick of mine, let's gather some clues and be outta here." Max helped the still stunned Chloe to get up and they both got into the room.

"Man, I can see why Principal locks up this room. Fancy faux art crap and such." Chloe breathed out as she saw the interior of the room. Max actually didn't give two shits about the design, but she had to agree with Chloe.

"Yeah, loads of money but no taste what-so-ever." She said taking in the interior for the first time, as the last time she had been too focused on not murdering Nathan Prescott in the presence of a teacher, the principal and the head of the school's security.

"How can you trust somebody with a fucking bronze bird on his desk?" Chloe asked no one in particular as she turned on the light on the principal's desk.

"Beats me. Don't trust the guy myself. Well, I could break his knees, but I bet he'd still try to weasel out." Max shrugged as she took a look around the room, ripping books from the shelf at random, not really caring that tomorrow this might be an incident. She really held grudges and if this one would fall on David's plate… well, too bad he messed with her. She had done worse to people in the past, though the last time she had broken into a principal's office she had made sure that the room would be totally thrashed. This time it would be enough just to roughen it up a bit.

"'m glad I was expelled." Chloe muttered as she walked over to the other side of the desk and settled in the chair.

"Yeah, right. A Monet or Picasso would have saved your ass." Max gave the punk-girl a lopsided grin still picking at the books in the shelves. There were actually a few books she would have liked to read, but even if she rewound time, it was still too risky to just pocket them.

"Eat me. I'm gonna pilfer the papers on this ugly ass desk." Chloe spat back, but she grinned brightly. That grin wasn't meant to last all too long. An expression of disbelief and amusement would replace it in a few moments.

"Well, the first thing can be arranged. Don't know about the second thing though. You sure up for the task, Punk-girl?" Max teased. The whole scenery reminded her all too much of what had happened about two years ago and she was aware that she was only half-joking.

"As if you'd try, MaxBat." Chloe's face was still flushed crimson by the light and a bit flirtatious banter they had, when she sat down in the principal's chair. "Okay. Sure it's ugly as hell, but damn that's a cosy chair." She exclaimed as she put her feet on the desk. "This is your chance to truly get all deductive and shit, Sherlock. Find us clues about Rachel. Or Kate. Or Nathan. Anybody!" She sat down normally and booted up the principal's PC.

"Very well, my dear Watson." Max spoke as though she would have a smoking pipe in her mouth and tried to imitate a posh British accent. "Please, do keep in mind that you should talk with more respect to me. After all – I am the famous detective and you're the doctor. Not the other way around. And please, for the love of the Queen, don't forget your posh accent the next time around, old chap." None of the girls could withstand the giggles that followed.

"Dude, I know I shouldn't be going through the Principal's files, but it's kinda cool." Chloe said excitedly as Max joined her at the desk.

"If you delete the hard drive or anything, just make sure that my files are on a safe flash drive or something. Otherwise – go nuts." Max grinned at the blue-nette who apparently didn't really know how to deal with this side of Max either. Although Max tried to look all over the room for the student records that would depict the real situation, the ones she found were all more or less tampered with. ' _What do you not do for money, you slimy bastard._ ' She thought of the principal when she put down the last student record – hers' - showing the various complains made by Nathan and Victoria.

"Max, you better come check out these files." Chloe's voice pulled her up from whatever place she was making revenge-plans and stuff. "Nathan accuses Rachel to bring drugs on the campus? And my step-troll went along because he thought she was a bad influence on me? Assholes."

"Douche and dipshit teaming up? Not a good sign." Max muttered as she came over to where Chloe was sitting and leaned in to see for herself. "I could break Nathan without probs, but hell if I know how to explain why I broke David's knee-caps to Joyce." She didn't seem to notice how close she was to Chloe at that moment.

"Nathan Prescott the third." She read out loud. "Fucktwad rolled in money a-la ' _I'm-too-good-for-this-town_ '." Max sneered.

"And you know the Prescotts dropped major bank to bury Nathan's real life." Chloe added, the anger in her voice was undeniable. "Look, it's like a rap sheet – bad grades, teacher complains, secret probations… But I was expelled?"

"Jup. It always hits the ones pure in heart." Max replied and Chloe couldn't get over the feeling that the girl next to her meant a lot more with that than she had actually said. "At least that fucker's expelled. Check out that note. Open it."

"That's just some crazy drawing…" Chloe spoke up after seeing the file Max meant and opening it. It was really full of crazy scribbling.

"It's not a drawing…" Max's mood had turned from amused to hundred precent murderous in the split of a second after she had seen what was on the screen. "Look. ' _Rachel in the dark room… Rachel in the dark room_ '… Over and over. That's it."

"That's… fucked up. What does that even mean? Nathan is truly psychotic…" Chloe said. Her stomach turned at the sight of the picture displayed on the screen and now that she noticed what it was, it seemed even more awful. "I know that he has something to do with Rachel missing."

"Listen to this: ' _David M. always asks what is going on in my head. David M. always helps me follow those he follows._ ' Man, that is fucked up." Max said seemingly taken a bit aback. "Now I wouldn't jump to conclusions, but I don't believe they have that kind of a bromance, if they have one at all. Still, we're so gonna go into his garage files and don't you dare stop me." Max's voice didn't leave any room for objections, even if Chloe had none.

"You bet, Godfather-Max. I'm already getting a little paranoid here." Chloe said squirming in the chair, visibly uncomfortable. "Let's bail. Though I don't think we should leave without a gift." The punk-girl added mischievously.

"More off a gift than a thrashed room?" Max just raised a brow, not denying the alluring effect of the possibility of creating a more serious situation for David had for her now, after reading what the files said. "If you are thinking of the cosy chair though, forget it. I'm not gonna help you bring it outta here."

"Max, do your powers include mind-reading now?" Chloe sounded seriously disappointed, but at the same time – amused. "Or did you just rewind because I tried to steal the chair? Shit, I'm confused."

"Nah, just the powers of best friendship. I just know how you roll." Max gave her a toothy grin and looked over the desk if there was anything they could make into ' _a gift_ '.

Chloe opened one of the drawers and both girls saw the thick envelope lying there. It was too much not to take a look at what it was.

"Hullo, what have we here?" Chloe took out the envelope and looked over its content. "Holy shit! Jackpot! Cha-ching!" Was all she could say as she counted the money in the envelope.

"Wowser. That's like five grand for the ' _handicapped fund_ '." Max breathed out. There were a lot of thing she could spend that kind of money on.

"Dude, I could pay Frank back tonight with this." Chloe sounded excited. "This will chill him out after, you know, almost shot him?" Max only raised a brow.

"Would shoot him anytime if he gave you or me any shit." Max said without even sounding sorry. "Or break his bones. You know? Like leaving him as food for his dog?"

"Wow. Max, seriously, chill out. He's not so bad a guy. He's just a dealer. A shitty one, but hey – beggars can't be choosers." Chloe motioned her friend to calm down. Somehow mentioning Frank had riled her up and she saw it clear as day – would they meet right now – Max would make mincemeat out of the man. "Are you gonna make a big issue outta this?"

"Nah, just give me one grand and keep the rest." Max smiled at the punk-girl, all the anger in her voice dispelled.

"Oh, hell yeah!" Chloe threw her arms up in the air. "Team Chloe and Max - one, Blackhell – zero. Okay, now let's get the hell out of this office morgue." The punk-girl exclaimed and walked out of the office almost skipping a step at the time after pocketing the money. ' _See how you like that, Mr Principal-that-does-everything-for-money_.' She thought, before another thought struck her and she turned to Max.

"That impish look..." Max said as she followed the blue-nette out of the principal's office and stopped before the young woman who had turned to look her in the eyes. "Have I not seen it in Episode No. 6 of ' _Mysterious Max and the Dangers of Chloe's look'_? Okay, spit it out. What are you up to, punk-girl?"

"Care to take a midnight swim?" Chloe sounded excited and who was Max to deny her friend the little pleasures? "The Blackwell pool is ours."

"You know what you are bargaining for, right?" Max cocked a brow at her friend in mock-disbelief. "I might not be able to hold myself back…"

"It's been a crazy week." Chloe exclaimed, seemingly unfazed by Max's tone. "Splish-splash?" She grabbed Max's hands in hers.

"Uuuu~! If you would know, you hella wouldn't say that out loud, but yeah, splish-splash." Max's grin kind off worried Chloe there for a second but when the smaller girl broke out in laughter, she joined in and decided to pay it no mind. ' _Damn, she still knows how to turn my own words on me…_ '

"Did you actually just say ' _hella_ '? I think I'm a good bad influence on you." Chloe laughed though she actually wondered who was the ' _good bad influence_ ' on whom.

* * *

-Wicked game-

* * *

It was just a short walk from the main building of the Academy to the building containing the pool, but the two girls were in a good mood and nearly broke the door, when they ran up to the building. Chloe unlocked the door and they quickly got in. They didn't think anybody saw them, but as the saying goes 'always be better safe than sorry'.

"We're in the Otters' lair." Max said amused at the name of the school's swim-team, when they entered the pool-area. She didn't really care about it though, even if she liked to swim herself, she just couldn't really grasp what was so interesting about competing, who can go faster for a certain distance in water or whatever else the swim-team does. Still, the trophies on display on the shelf to her left showed that whatever it was the swim-team was doing – they were good at it.

"Big fucking deal. I want that heated water!" Chloe rolled her eyes having mistaken Max's amusement for genuine interest.

"Right, right. The evil plan. Can't forget why we came here for." Max grinned and followed the blue-nette. The idea of going for a swim and lazing around in the pool, just after having broken into the Principal's office and with all the ' _incriminating evidence_ ' still on them, had somehow really psyched the rock-girl up. Damn the world if she didn't love Chloe for this idea.

"Boys or girls?" Chloe asked with a grin on her lips, when they walked up to the dressing rooms.

"Girls." Max answered without having to think about it.

"Oh la la!" Chloe said, her amusement at Max's fast answer was obvious. "Let me check to see if the pool's heated…" She said walking off towards the pool just ever so slightly swaying her hips. She couldn't help herself not to tease Max even if the rock-girls comments in the principal's room still lingered on her mind. Or was it because of these comments? ' _Shit, Chloe! Get your act together!_ ' The blue-haired girl berated herself for her slipping thoughts, but couldn't stop grinning to herself what-so-ever.

As the punk-girl walked over to the pool, Max entered the girls' locker room. She quickly found hers, but after opening it remembered that she had taken her swimsuit to her room after the last sports' class so she could wash the chlorine out of it properly. ' _Okay, so now it is either skinny-dipping or underwear._ ' Max thought and somehow she was sure that either option would shock the punk-girl waiting at the pool. ' _So, it is the second day since our reunion and you already think about turning your best-friend-regained head? Damn, Pixie, you are moving fast. You're scary at times, if I can say so about myself._ ' The brown-red haired girl grinned. Still, she couldn't deny the fact that getting to see Chloe's stunned expression would be totally worth it. Despite everything she had been through today this nightly endeavour had really boosted her spirits. However, another boost to her 'dark side' was the satisfaction she gained from breaking the lock on Victoria's locker, so that the other girl would need to pry open the lock with a crowbar or something. She didn't care if Victoria would accuse her of having done what she had actually just done. ' _Try to prove it, bitch-queen. I will make your life the hell you made Kate live through and then some. This is just a sign that I haven't forgotten about you._ '

"Max, try to find the lights for the pool. I want to see the sharks." Chloe said, waving one hand through the water, as Max walked over to the pool.

"Thought otters don't like sharks. They bite." Max raised a brow at her friend, but could see why Chloe would want the lights on. The water looked pitch black with the lights out in the whole building and with them just having her flashlight as light source.

"So do I… Hit the light, Max!" Chloe replied, seeming a bit unsure if she said the right thing, but Max just nodded and walked over to the control room. She smiled slightly about Chloe's comment though. ' _You really don't know what you bargain for, girl._ ' She found the switch for the lights easily enough and turned on the lights for the pool, which immediately flickered to life.

When she returned, Chloe had already jumped into the pool and now was slowly swimming in the direction of the edge where Max was standing.

"Oh, yeah, baby! Feels like a hot tub!" The punk-girl said excitedly. "Tell me you're not going to stand there watching me like a zombie." She teased, before splashing some water in Max's direction.

"You dare?" Max grinned at her friend.

"Come stop me, rock-girl." Chloe grinned back. What she was not prepared for was what would come after that. She was definitely not prepared.

"The world was on fire and no one could save me, but you." Max began to sing in a low melodious voice, but the acoustics of the room were good enough so that the song was audible without her raising her voice above a half-whisper. She turned so that she was standing with her back towards the girl in the pool. She was not completely sure, what she would do herself, but she knew she wanted to tease some reaction out of her friend.

"It's strange what desire will make foolish people do." She continued the song without looking back while she took of her jacket and bent down to untie and take off her boots, all the while trying to do it painstakingly slow enough but fast enough that it would match the slow pace she had chosen for the song.

"I'd never dreamed that I'd meet somebody like you." She straightened herself up and took of the shirt allowing the blue-nette in the pool to take in a full look of her bare back (well, nearly bare save for the bra).

"And I'd never dreamed that I'd lose somebody like you." The trousers went to the other clothes on the ground and only now did she turn towards the young woman in the pool. Chloe was paddling on the spot her face red as a beet and her mouth fell somewhat agape when Max made small, determined steps towards the edge of the pool carefully placing one foot before the other, which caused her hips to sway naturally.

"No, I don't wanna fall in love." Max slid slowly over the edge into the water. "This world is only gonna break your heart." She somehow managed to keep her voice and the song steady while slowly swimming in Chloe's direction. "No, I don't wanna fall in love… With you."

"What a wicked game to play, to make me feel this way." She continued as she reached Chloe, who for the love of God couldn't have said anything at that moment. "What a wicked thing to do, to let me dream of you." The song did not waver as Max started to slowly circle around her stunned friend, who just followed her movement still paddling and turning on the spot. "What a wicked thing to say, you never felt this way. What a wicked thing to do, to make me dream of you."

"And I don't wanna fall in love." She had made a full circle around the girl next to her. "This world is only gonna break your heart. No, I don't wanna fall in love. With you." She started to slowly drift away from the blue-nette, which prompted Chloe to follow her, like she would really follow a siren calling.

"The world was on fire, no one could save me but you." They continued their slow little chase all over the length of the pool before turning to swim back. "It's strange what desire will make foolish people do. I'd never dreamed that I'd love somebody like you. And I'd never dreamed that I'd lose somebody like you."

"Oh, I, I wanna fall in love." Chloe only half-registered that Max had changed the words of the original song. "This world is only gonna break my heart. Oh, but I, I wanna fall in love. With you." Max stretched out the last verse of the song. "But nobody loves no one…"

And with that she stopped, prompting Chloe to snap out of the trance she had fallen into, as the punk-girl realised how close she had swam to the young woman with the brown-red hair, who looked at her with a wicked smile on her face, as if she was the devil himself after bargaining for the all the souls in the world. She was so close, she could have…

"I told you, you didn't know what you bargained for, when you came up with the idea." Max said impishly before swimming a bit further away from the girl in front of her, all to Chloe's dismay. ' _You missed the moment!_ ' The voice in Chloe's head said angrily. ' _You could've…_ '

"You can say that again." Chloe breathed out a bit heavily. "Damn, Max. Are you really not some sort of siren and the time-rewind-thingy is just a side effect of you discovering your real powers?" She was still in shock by what had happened, or could have happened, had she not snapped out of it. What shocked her most, however, was the regret settling in her gut for the fact that it _didn't_ happen. At this Max just dissolved into uncontrollable laughter at her friend's expense and nearly forgot to keep paddling.

"Yeah, right. Keep laughing at your best friend." Chloe muttered sullenly, but wasn't really that sullen over the whole situation than more about what she had thought. She breathed in deeply and let herself float on her back. Another voice in her head popped up and reminded her of a different thing, that had been and still was important to her, but had been side-lined by Max's ' _performance_ '.

"I wish Rachel was here. She would totally love being in here at night." She blurted out. Again her mouth just couldn't stay shut. "Wish you guys would have met each other." Only now she noticed the silence which had fallen between them. She already wanted to say something, but Max beat her to it.

"Bet we will." Max said, her voice taking on again the distant sound as if she was deep in thought or not really saying what was on her mind. "With all this stuff going on, I'm starting to think everything is related… and I want to find out. For Kate's sake. She nearly died today." She added while she turned to swim to the edge of the pool and Chloe couldn't help but chastise herself while following her friend. ' _Ugh. You killed the mood._ '

"Your power's changing everything. Especially you, Max. You're becoming like a force of nature." Chloe said as they settled on the edge of the pool.

"More like luck of nature." Max said, her mood visibly soured a bit. "Remember I told you that my powers completely failed me back there on the roof, when I was trying to save Kate. Maybe I'm just stumbling back and forth in time…"

"You didn't stumble when you saved my life, Max." Chloe turned her head towards the young woman next to her and smiled a bit, hoping this would reassure Max and lift her mood again.

"Not that time, but you were the trigger to my powers." Max replied, still staring at nothing in particular in front of her.

"So then it's time to move forward in time. And we're obviously connected since without me, you'd never have discovered your power, right?" Said the blue-haired woman.

"Absolutely. With you I always feel like I know what I'm doing." Max turned to her friend and a warm smile settled in her eyes, even if the one on her lips was just a small one.

"And you make me feel like I have a reason to still being in Arcadia Bay." Chloe blurted out. ' _Shit, I know I still have Rachel and I must find her, but damn me if I didn't mean what I just said._ ' She caught herself thinking. "You're like the smartest, most talented person I've ever known." She knew she could have continued to sing songs of praise for Max for at least an hour or so.

"You forgot scary and violent." Max said, smiling a bit sadly when she added, "But smarter and more talented than Rachel Amber?"

"Dude, I'm not her groupie, okay?" ' _Ouch, you really do dish out as much as you receive._ ' The blue-nette thought. "And I'm sure you have Blackhell bros all over you – like Warren…" ' _Wow, good save. Just ruin the situation further._ ' Said the sarcastic voice in her head. But Max seemed to take this more lightly than Chloe.

"Yeah, right." The rocker-girl laughed. "Those jocks can shove themselves. Plus, they are all scared of me. My reputation for nearly breaking a guy's arm on the first day of school when he tried to smack me on the bum, has helped to make them stay outta my way. That and maybe the fact that I did indeed break every finger on that guy's left hand. 'm still wondering how the principal didn't hear about this." Max smiled evilly. Chloe had no problems picturing the situation, and was oddly surprised to find herself angry at the notion that someone might have touched Max. Her thoughts were interrupted, when Max continued. "But Warren, well, he's kinda nice, but the more he tries to flirt or hit on me the more repulsive I find his advances. I mean, yeah, we can be friends and I'd love to have one more, nerdy friend, but more than that – no, just no."

"Wow. You really shot him down, huh? You do know that 'nice' is the little brother of 'shit', right?" Chloe couldn't help but laugh as she said that feeling a bit relieved by Max's answer. The other girl joined in her laughter. "C'mon, Warrior-queen, I think I've had my pool experience for the year. Let's jet." Max nodded and with that they got out of the pool and got dressed not minding the fact that they hadn't dried themselves off.

"Gross, I feel like we just went swimming in Chlorine Bay. I know why they put it in the water, but I still hate it." Max grumbled as she put on her jacket and picked up her bag.

"You look cute with your hair soaked in chemicals." Chloe teased grinning at the shorter girl.

"Thanks, you would know." Max just rolled her eyes, but the smile that spread on her face indicated that she was amused by her friends attempt to banter. She already wanted to add something witty, when they both heard the noise of doors opening and turned to see the security guard enter the pool-area.

"Hide." She said and pushed Chloe towards the unlit rooms connected to the pool-area. It took them a while and Max one or two rewinds, before they successfully evaded the guard.

"We're so invisible!" Chloe said excitedly in a hushed voice, locking her friend in a close embrace for a moment. "Let's bail!" She grabbed Max's hand and both bound off out of the building and off to the parking lot. "You can't go back to your dorm now, you're a Blackhell fugitive. Crash at my place tonight." She added, when she saw the guard making his patrol around the way leading to the dorms. Somehow she really hoped Max would agree.

"You want me to crash where the Blackwell security officer lives, so that I'll be safe?" Max laughed, maybe a bit too loudly, but they were so close to Chloe's car that she didn't really think anybody heard them. "Okay, but I hope you know what you are proposing." She wiggled her brows and laughed again, when Chloe's face flushed a bit and the punk-girl swallowed hard.

"Hahahaha. Later, fuckers!" Chloe laughed excited about the stunt they had pulled off gotten away with, when both girls had quickly entered the car and Chloe had bound off with speed, not saving the tires. "Max, you rock! We are so fucking awesome!" Max joined in the laughter, but a small mischievous glint had crept in her eyes, which Chloe missed to notice as they drove towards Chloe's house.


	6. Chapter 6

**WARNING:**

 **All characters and the story upon which this fanfiction is based are property of Dontnod Entertainment and Square Enix. I don't own anything.  
**

 **As this is my first story to be published here, I will be happy about every reviews - both good and bad as only so I can know what I have to improve. :)**

 **Rated M for crude and strong language at times, violence and mature content in later chapters.**

* * *

-I cried like a silly boy-

* * *

Max was surprised at how quickly they got to Chloe's house. The idle chit-chat and the punk-girls excitement at their success in evading the security of Blackwell had kept her occupied all the while they drove to Chloe's home.

"Come on, Max. No time to space out. Mom probably sleeps already so we gotta be quiet!" Whispered as she opened the front door and motioned for Max to follow her. They took off their shoes there by the entrance and went up the stairs to Chloe's room. The house was completely dark and silent, except for light snoring sounds coming from the bedroom of Chloe's mom and stepfather.

"Uff… Finally. Time to change. I feel like I've been drenched and then put in a paper bag. Gross." Chloe placed her boots down next to the bed and walked over to her wardrobe after turning on her desk-lamp. Max closed the door as quietly as she could and put her own boots next to Chloe's, before following Chloe's lead and taking of the soaked clothes until she was left standing there in a bra and her undies.

"Erm… Chloe, some clothes, please?" Max said to the blue-nette, who had managed to quickly change in a dry t-shirt and some boxers throwing the wet clothes in a pile on the ground, while Max was still occupied with orderly placing her clothes so that they would dry faster. "Chloe? You in there somewhere, girlfriend?" Max waved a hand before the punk-girls flushed face. This seemed to have the wanted effect and Chloe quickly focused on the wardrobe again looking for something in Max's size.

"Wha-? Oh, right." Chloe mumbled before quickly taking out a long t-shirt and handing it to Max. "Sorry. You'll have to go with some of my old clothes, if that is okay with you, cause, you know, you are kinda shorter than me and so on." She rubbed her neck as she held out some smaller underwear that she thought might fit the smaller woman.

"Or I could go without any." Max stuck her tongue out at her flustered friend, who's face had flushed crimson all over again, but took the offered piece of cloth anyways. "No peeking." She grinned toothily and turned so that she was standing with her back to her friend before unhooking her bra and draping the shirt over her head.

This was the second time that day that Chloe had seen Max undress, only that now it was more like undressing completely, even if she did dress in some of Chloe's old garb after that. And despite her turning to face the other way as Max got dressed, she couldn't help but take a small peek over her shoulder, only to find that the shirt she had given Max was a bit too big and slumped down on the left shoulder, revealing the scar she had noticed earlier. Back at the pool she had been too preoccupied with not right-out drooling over her friend to ask about the origins of the scar. It reminded her painfully how 'good' of a friend she had been and how little she actually knew about the girl standing with her back to her.

"I said no peeking." Max voice rang out without her even turning to see if Chloe actually did look her way. Still, it prompted the punk-girl to quickly turn her head towards the wall in front of her and she could already feel her ears grow hot as another wave of embarrassment hit her.

"H-how do you even know? I wasn't even looking." She stammered a bit at the beginning as the words got caught in her throat for a second. 'Does she have eyes on her back?'

"Chloe, you do know that I can see your reflection in the window, right?" Max sounded more amused than anything else. ' _Shit! She's right!_ ' Chloe face-palmed herself and groaned, which prompted the girl behind her to laugh up and before Chloe knew what happened she already felt the younger woman embrace her from behind in a close hug.

"Sometimes you are so obvious, Blue. I really like that about you, you know?" Max said and Chloe could feel her heart beating against her throat. ' _Fuck! What do I do now?_ ' She panicked in her head. ' _Okay, Chloe, play it cool. Just play it cool._ ' She turned to see the smaller woman standing in front of her, when she felt being released from the hug.

"So want to watch some movies or something? 'Cause I sure as hell can't sleep yet." She said, giving it her best not to notice, that the brown-red haired girl in front of her had no bra on.

"Sure. You have something in mind already, because if not – I'd really like to watch 'I love you, Phillip Morris' again." Max sounded to be truly excited about the idea. "Wouldn't have gone to the morning-class anyways. Not after today's events. Fuck them, if they think I'd just go to school like nothing happened." The anger in her voice was real, but at a low level, which indicated Chloe, that her idea about a chill'n'movies night had been very welcome.

"'I love you, Phillip Morris'? Is that a new movie or something? Didn't hear about it." Chloe answered truthfully. Arcadia Bay was after all a rather small town and although she was good at digging up good movies, this one had completely gone under her radar.

"No way!" Max breathed out, eyes wide as if she would look at some extremely rare animal species that had just manifested before her eyes. "Ok, I get it now, why you want to leave town so much. We definitely have to watch this movie then! You'll love it!" The rock-gal had already crossed the room and picked up the laptop from Chloe's desk before making herself comfortable on the bed and started searching for the movie on the net. Stream or download – either would do. It took Chloe a bit to get into motion herself as for a few moments all she could do was smile to herself watching the excited look on Max's face. The rock-girl looked genuinely happy about the opportunity to spend more time with her and it made her heart beat a bit faster and louder.

"See? That's one of the reasons Arcadia sucks. No good movies reach this hickhole." Chloe grinned at her friend and set beside her on the bed before taking a small box from under the bed and starting to roll a joint.

"Ok, now I'm definitely not going to go to Blackwell before afternoon." Max graced Chloe with a lopsided grin as she noticed what the blue-nette was doing. "But will we have something to eat? When I get the munchies, I can get pretty ferocious about getting some grub."

"Don't you worry, Munchie-Max. Mom has always some leftover waffles or bacon and eggs in the fridge she brings back from work." Chloe returned the grin and felt happy about Max's notion to stay nearly the rest of the next day with her, or at least that was what she herself intended to make Max do. She had no idea how, but she knew already that Max had occupied most of her thoughts in the matter of days. Well – two days actually.

When Max had finally found a stream for the movie, which was in good enough quality and didn't lag due to Chloe's laptop not being the newest model, they made themselves comfortable and sat as close as they could so that both would have a good view on the screen. Both girls took big hits on the blunt Chloe had prepared by the time the movie started and with the warm buzz settling in their stomachs and the slight light-headedness that followed it, they clicked the 'play' button and indulged in the movie.

They were about not even half-way in the movie, when the munchies hit them and they had to stage a night-raid on the fridge and try not to giggle at every little thing they found funny. Luckily Joyce was a heavy sleeper and wouldn't wake up from the small ruckus the two young women created, though she probably would know what happened in the next morning when she would find the fridge nearly half-empty. Packed with their 'loot' and joking in low pirate voices the two girls had sat down to watch the rest of the movie, but by the end of the movie and the food they had brought both were huddling together holding each other's hands as the final culmination of the movie brought tears to their eyes and sad smiles to their faces. They were still like that – locked in a close but comfortable embrace – when the credits started to roll and the title music started (' _I cried like a silly boy_ ' performed by Devotchka) to play on a low volume. It took Chloe by surprise, when Max started to sing along to the song, but from her it sounded even more longingly, even more haunting.

"For a tattooed girl with piercings in her nose and tongue you do really have a mushy side, don't you?" Chloe smiled at her friend, when the song had ended and she had wiped her eyes.

"Well, tattoos or not, but I really like the movie and hell yeah, I love romantic movies, but the good ones – those with only a bit cheesiness and with a portion of drama, and who are a bit more relatable and closer to real life than those Disney-like flics." Max answered resting her head against Chloe's shoulder. "Always has been this way. You know that. That much hasn't changed."

"Well, the tattoos are quite a change." Chloe replied, suddenly unsure if she really wanted to go down this path in their conversation – it would only lead them to discuss topics, which would not be easy to handle for both of them. But didn't she want to know more about the girl with brown-red hair that was so close she could hear every slow breath she made?

"Sure, you wanna know, punk-girl?" Max's tone however didn't seem all too annoyed or angry at all, but she knew exactly what Chloe had meant with her statement. It seemed to Chloe that the rocker-girl might even want to tell her, but hadn't done so because of the circumstances of the previous day and her own inability to see beyond her selfishness. Chloe nodded and tried to prepare herself for what was about to come, but nothing could have prepared her for the shock she would get from listening to Max's story.

* * *

-The Heavy – Short Change Hero-

* * *

"The butterfly is a reminder how much I got fucked over by life, Karma or whatever is responsible for shit hitting the fan with the magnitude of a meteor… The first time I had seen the strange blue butterfly was a few days before we had to move to Seattle…It was nearly two years after we moved to Seattle, when I saw the little fucker again sitting on a tree-branch in the park outside the second school I had transferred to in as many years." Max began her story after taking a deep breath. "You see, I didn't really fit in with everyone and despite my appearance back then I was everything but happy. Even if my parents tried to make life as comfortable for me as possible and dad took up every stupid new thing I was interested in as a hobby, just for me to have someone to talk about it, it was not what I wanted." The look on her face grew a bit clouded. "I couldn't adapt what-so-ever."

"In the first two years since I moved I had not changed at all. I was still the same girl you knew, only maybe even more anxious and reclusive, for I was thrown in a new environment and couldn't really make any friends. Sure, some of the kids were nice enough to talk to me, but no one really was as close as you had been. I really missed you." Max said in a small voice, but without any hint of breaking down or anger in it. "But I was afraid to contact you. I was so terrified by the thought you might not want to even listen to me, that you would hate me… I was so scared that I couldn't bring myself to write you or anything." Pain stung the young blue-haired woman's heart. ' _That's right. Didn't I say all those terrible things back then, like: 'I never want to see you or your traitorous ass again'? I did…_ '

"Still I somehow made it so far. And then, that pretty blue bugger appears. In fucking autumn. I should have known by then that something was about to happen…" Now Max's voice took on a bit of an edge. "I still remember taking a photo of it and wanting to show it to mom after school, but I was called to the Principal's office instead. When I arrived there, dad was already waiting for me and he quickly went to talk to the principal. At first I thought I had done something bad or that I would be transferred to another school for whatever reason, because of the pained look on my father's face. Only when he came out of the principal's office and drove me to the hospital he told me that mom had collapsed during a meeting at work and had been brought to the hospital immediately."

"At first they had thought it might be some sort of stroke, but the test results showed a different picture. She was diagnosed with late-stage lung cancer that was rapidly growing." Chloe gasped and placed a hand over her mouth. Vanessa had been as much a second mother to Chloe as Joyce had been to Max. She felt tears welling up in her eyes, but dared not break down. Not now. She needed to know what had happened. All of it. "She didn't even live to see one more month after the diagnosis. I had a complete breakdown. I shut myself in and wouldn't come out of the house for nearly a month. I wouldn't talk to my dad, or anyone. I didn't eat very well during that time too… It hit dad hard, but I didn't care. Mom was dead." The brown-red haired girl didn't seem to notice how Chloe's embrace tightened and the silent tears falling from the older girl's cheeks. "Dad was overjoyed when I finally decided to go back to school and started to talk to him again a little. I was like the last ray of sunlight he could see in this world, but I didn't see anything like that, because it had been the two of them together that had made life in that city halfway bearable… When I came back to school, I couldn't really talk to anyone. Those that had been sympathetic towards me I had rejected, because their sympathy felt wrong, felt fake. And they repaid me in kind. I had no one there. I would space out in class and get berated by the teachers. Then the bullying started in earnest. I had shown my weakness and the vultures just waited for an opportunity." Max's voice rang hollow.

"It had been a bit during the time I was at my first school and at first less at the second school, but after mom passed and I was down, it just steadily increased. So much that I begged dad to transfer me to another school. It didn't do much good." She continued, still nothing showed on Max's face. "I would space out, get chastised by the teachers, the other students would avoid me or out-right bully me. I must have seemed calm, even emotionless at that time, but I was not. I just couldn't bring myself to react. To anything. I lost my interest in nearly all my hobbies, including photography… Well, not completely in that one, but I just couldn't bring myself to think I could be this person I thought I would become – modest, with a bright look on life and capturing all the beauty the world had to offer in my pictures. How naïve had I been… Mom had always been the one whose appreciation I had wanted for what I thought would be the start of my great art's career, even if it was dad, who supported me since I was little on this idea… But after mom's death I just didn't see any purpose to it anymore. I felt like I had been drained or bled dry. And so I took the beating life gave me. Eventually dad heard about the bullying in the new school too and transferred me again, but it didn't help. He transferred me three more times, but with each transfer the situation grew worse. And I nurtured the anger and hate quickly growing in me… At some point it had started to replace the spot primarily occupied by sadness. Yeah, I was angry. I am angry…" Max's voice turned into something close to a growl.

"I hated the city for poisoning my mother. I hated everyone that would smoke. I hated the cars that would emit so much toxic smoke into the air. I hated the other students for being oh-so-sympathetic, but not meaning a thing they said. I hated the teachers for not caring at all to give me at least time to understand what was happening. I hated the bullies and those who just watched everything that happened to me in silence. As if I was just a waste of space." Max continued and she could feel the girl next to her shake with silent sobs, but she had to tell her friend everything. Else it would never get past her lips again. It was hard enough to talk now already. No, she had to tell it now. She was not strong enough to relive it all a second time and stay this composed and even this was becoming a burden she could hardly bear for much longer. "I hated dad, for not being able to give me the love I needed from mom, as childish and unfair it might be. I hated mom, for dying and leaving me and dad like that – broken and alone. I hated being away from you – the only friend I believed would be able to help me. I hated fearing you would hate me for abandoning you." And at this Max looked up into the reddened eyes of the blue-nette. "I hated you for not being there. For not contacting me, even if I so desperately wanted to see you or at least hear your voice. I hated everything around me, Chloe. I hated myself for being this weak and pitiful creature I had become. I hated myself for allowing myself to hate you, even if it was only for a short time. I hated myself for hating dad and mom. I hated myself for not being stronger. I hated myself so much, Chloe…" Max could see that her words had hit her best friend hard. Maybe harder than she could bear. But the truth was the truth and she would say nothing but to the one person she so desperately had wished to be there for her all those years. Still, she averted her gaze as she continued.

"It was in the third month after transferring to the fifth school, when I met Casandra." Despite the heavy blow Max's previous words had dealt her, Chloe still could not miss the small tinge of anger the mentioning of the other girls – this Casandra – brought out in her, when she noticed the affection, the hatred and pain mixed in Max's voice as she said the name. "After the bullying had started on the first day of me attending the school, something snapped in me and I got in a real cat-fight with one of the girls who bullied me. The anger and hate I had nurtured for nearly half a year now brought me to the surface of whatever place I had been hiding and made me react to the world again. I decided I would no longer play the doe and the deer in the headlights, terrified and unable to do anything. I wanted to show them how much I hurt and if they hurt me physically or mentally – why shouldn't I do the same to them? It was then that I saw an advertisement for Muay Thai lessons and it just clicked in my brain. I decided that I would turn the tables on those who wanted to hurt and torment me. I was surprisingly good at learning Muay Thai. Maybe because my anger fuelled me, maybe because it was the thought of getting payback that I was nearly completely obsessed with and went to the gym every day – not caring how much strain I put on my body. Maybe it was because the anger made me forget how lonely or abandoned I felt… Dad was so happy that I decided to do something with my spare time instead of locking myself up in my room and playing games and not talking to him for nearly the whole evening that he didn't even question why I had suddenly developed an interest in sports. He cried, Chloe, he actually cried as it was the first time I had asked anything from him since the time I had begged him to transfer me to another school… It was also then, that I started to pick up new hobbies, such as playing guitar, and started to listen to the music I like now. At first I didn't change my style though. That happened gradually… after I met Cas. As I said, it had been the third month in the new school and I was just a kid that had trouble with bullies and she was practically the queen of the school – a year away from graduation, young, sexy, funny, liked by everyone, a real social butterfly with all the gifts, if you like. It was on one evening after I had had another fight with some girls and had gotten an ugly bruise on my brow, that this strange girl approached me after the bullies had left me beaten bloody, even if I had given them quite some hits and bruises to remember me too… She had witnessed the fight and now wanted to see my bruise, so she could tend to it. I didn't want her to, but she insisted and kept following me that evening nearly back to my home, before I snapped at her and told her to just shove her 'kindness'. But she didn't seem fazed at all. She just approached me again and chastised me for running around the city in a look like I had been mugged and if that was the look I wanted to present my dad with. Somehow her words stuck and I didn't know how to respond to her. She was just completely different from what I had expected. She didn't seem ' _fake_ '." Max tried to keep the anger out of her voice for her friends sake, but failed."

"She was so persistent and wouldn't budge as much as I tried to push her away during the next month. She would always stay close to me, whenever there was a break between lessons and would wait for me, when I would go to the gym after school or to the guitar lessons or anywhere really. It was so irritating and at the same time it felt like genuine interest." Max's voice had something like disbelief in it. "She would not interfere with me going against those who tried to bully me. And she would always be there, whenever I was beaten and bloodied to help me up on my feet… And she always would smile that warming smile of hers. It was annoying beyond imagination, but deep down, I knew that she had started to grow on me. She was the first person I considered to call a friend again, since I had moved to that damned city… Some time passed and at some point I didn't think her to be that annoying anymore. I started to like her waiting for me and smiling at me the way she did, whenever it was just the two of us. At some point we had started to spend more and more time together and I would start to notice small things about her. Cas had the purest light-green eyes I had seen and she had long raven-black hair, and freckles on her nose. Smooth white skin and lips that were made for kissing. And one day I just knew it. I didn't want to admit it but I knew from one look in her eyes that I had already fallen for her and Cas seemed to return what I felt. It didn't take long after that that Cas and I became more than mere friends… She supported me with everything that I had got on my mind. My decision to get the piercings or colour my hair – she supported me on all of it. She would never hold me back in anything, whether it was me going to hang out with people that were not the best company or get into fights, or rebel against the authorities in and out of school… Anything… And it grew on me so much, that I actually started to do stuff just to get her attention. I would buy her things, small gifts, go to movies with her or take her to concerts and such. I basically spent everything I had just to make her smile at me or show me her affection and I still tried to get better grades so that she could be proud of me... God, I ran after her like a bitch in heat…" Max said and self-loathing weighted heavy in her voice. "I was such a fool. A fool in love… And with me being head over heels into her I didn't suspect anything. It was about a month before Christmas, when Cas and I had sex for the first time. We had been out partying and had broken into the school way after midnight and completely trashed the principal's office, before we had made our way to the attic of the school to 'celebrate' our/my rebellion. I thought I couldn't be happier. The girl I had fallen in love with had just made love with me and for the first time seriously declared that she loved me too and proposed that we should start to date officially and not in secret, my dad looked happier with me being happy, my grades were getting steadily better and I actually started to enjoy living in that damn place for a little while. But it all came crashing down."

"Two days after _that_ happening, one of Cas's friends came to talk to me." Max snorted, but there was no mirth in her voice – it was pure bitterness. "I say 'came to talk' but she practically dragged me to the girls' bathroom, where Cas and a few more of her friends were waiting. When I asked what was happening she broke down crying and asked how I could have done such a thing. How could I do such a thing to her, when I had said I loved her? How could I have humiliated her like that? How could I have betrayed her like that?... When I asked what was wrong and was growing desperate, pleading to her to talk to me and to say, what I had done wrong, one of the girls would show me photos on her cell phone showing me and Cas doing it. Another played an audio… and a third had a short video… it all had been sent to them from an unknown e-mail, to which these files had been apparently sent from my e-mail stating that Cas was mine and that these bitches should scram. That I had dirt on them and Cas now. That I basically could hold them hostage with this and away from Cas." She slowly shook her head. "I should have thought a bit there, but I didn't. I was a fool, madly in love with the girl with raven-black locks crying in front of me. I was so desperate for her love that I would have done anything to prove that it wasn't me. That all of this was someone else's doing and assure her that I would find and literally murder the one who did that to her. To us… I should have thought about it more… A few days after that I met again with Cas and told her that I suspected her friends having something to do with this, but she (naturally) freaked on me and wouldn't listen to anything I would say. She accused me of doing it to hurt her that I had used her and had planned this all along. She wouldn't talk to me after that. And I was so desperate, that I couldn't think of anything else but making her happy again. Making her smile at me again. Making her love me again… I was so desperate that I went to the very friends I had accused and they pointed me in the direction of some bullies I had had trouble with since I had come to the school. Stupid and blinded by my own want to prove myself in Cas's eyes again I went at them that very same evening. Blindly and enraged. They had gathered in an alleyway and I didn't think. I just ran at them, even if they were all boys and at least two years older than me. I beat some of them good, but I didn't see the one with a bat or the one with the knife." Max's voice was cold as ice at this point, her rage being nearly tangible in the air around her.

"I didn't see the blow coming from behind. Nor the next one after that coming for my stomach." Max continued. "They beat me, Chloe, and all I could do was lie there in the dirt, not able to resist them as they ganged up on me and pinned me to the ground. The only reason they didn't manage to violate me was that the sick fuckers wanted to torture me first. That is how I got the scar… While they were cutting me a police patrol rolled by and saw that something was happening. Surprisingly enough they stopped and shouted at the bastards to stop immediately in what they were doing. They even fired a warning shot, when those fuckers hadn't reacted fast enough. It was only at that moment that they stopped scrammed and ran. The police made a call for all cabs in the area to look out for them, but only two of the five were caught… The officers called an ambulance and I lost consciousness for some time there. I woke up in a hospital from my father having a heated discussion with the officers, but they stopped when they noticed that I was awake. The police asked me some questions and reassured me that an official investigation was underway to lock those two and their fellows up for attempted rape, bodily harm and other charges after I gave them my statement. I had to stay at the hospital for two more days and you would have thought, that Cas would have come to see me, but no. I was wrong. Oh, I had no idea how wrong." Max laughed at that and that laughter sent chills down Chloe's spine. She didn't know if she actually wanted to hear what Max had to say next. An ominous knot had settled in her gut, telling her that whatever was about to come out of the other girls' mouth would hit her hard – very hard. "I was released from the hospital, but of course the first thing that I thought about was, that I could go to Cas and tell her that she had nothing to fear. That the whole situation had been cleared. That those responsible for her tears and her pain had been dealt with. I didn't notice the looks they gave me at school at that moment, I was so focused on the one thing that I so desperately wanted to be mine again, even if just for a moment. From some girls in my class I gathered that Cas was in the arts-classroom at the time I arrived at the school, so I went there, hoping against hope that she would hear me out. On my way there I stopped by the bathroom, just to wash my face, but when I heard the voices of Cas's friends I hid in one of the bathroom stalls. And you know, what is funny? They were talking about me and Cas. How well Cas had played me and toyed with me. How she had sucked me dry and then discarded me like a useless thing… I didn't want to believe it. None of it, even the things that made so much sense that even I couldn't deny them… When they had gone their ways I practically ran to the arts-classroom. I heard her voice and something, some old anger at the world made me halt in my steps. It was then, that I saw that blue butterfly for the third time, fluttering right in front of the arts-classroom. It made my stomach turn…"

"I peeked into the classroom only to find her there talking to some upperclassman, I had seen her talk to maybe once or twice before and whom I had thought was just a buddy... At first I thought he was arguing with Cas and I was ready to burst in and try stop him from whatever he would do. Who knows, I thought at that time, maybe he argued with her about me being a bad influence or about her having to ditch me. But he just leaned in and kissed her. I couldn't stand it and I entered the room." Max's voice cracked there a bit, but she continued. "She was surprised to see me, as was that guy. I asked what was going on and what all of this meant. Cas just stared at me with such a cold, annoyed expression that I could barely hold back the tears I felt welling up in me. I felt like the world was falling apart around me. And then she just said 'It means, what it means – it's over, Max'. And you know what? I begged. I fell to my knees and begged this one bright thing I had had in my life, for the first time since mom died, not to leave me. I pleaded with her. I told her everything that had happened, what I had done, how that issue had been resolved. Wasn't she happy to see me? Hadn't she said she loved me? Hadn't she just a few days ago said she wanted me to officially be her girlfriend? Why was this guy here? Chloe… I was so low… I begged her to take me back. And she… she just started to laugh and that guy joined in and just asked 'how could you be so blind'. She _had_ just toyed with me, Chloe. That guy had all along been her boyfriend with whom she had an on and off relationship. And he had known everything about what had been going on between me and Cas, because Cas had told him. She had used me and then, when I had become too bothersome and too attached, she had decided to just shut me up and practically sold me out to those bullies. The photos, the video, the pictures had all been fake – fabricated by her friends on her request. They all had been in on this ' _Toy with the rough new girl_ ' game of theirs… And then she just left not sparing me a second glance, leaving me there – broken like that. It was only then that I noticed the looks the other students gave me. Rumours started to spread around school that I was just some crazy bitch that had been raped by a gang for not paying them money for drugs. Rumours Cas's friends set into motion and soon spiralled out of proportion. But the damage was done and those who had been weary to bully me 'cause of me fighting back – they came in droves now… The loathing, the name-calling, the humiliation… but most of all Cas's betrayal… those were the true reasons why I had attempted suicide that time… I just couldn't bear the thought of her using me and discarding me like that… For fucks sake… It hurt so much. It was like my heart had been ripped out again after I had just started to hope that there was something good in the world after all…" Max fell silent for a few moments there, but eventually continued. She still didn't look directly at Chloe.

"Dad transferred me again, after he somehow caught wind of what was going on in school, but I still was heart-broken and really _broken_ and so I took a break from school and became, with the exception of continued Muay Thai trainings after I had recovered from the beating and my wound had healed, effectively a shut-in again. For some time… before my old friends ' _anger and hate_ ' helped me up again." Max's voice grew thick with emotion. "It took me about a year to get back at her and her friends and all those who had tormented me. Those fuckers that cut me still went to jail, but Cas and the others – they didn't get away so lightly. I broke them. Every. Single. One. And I broke Cas the most… Hate nearly consumed me, Chloe… It was the look of utter horror and hurt on her face that last time I saw her that snapped me back… I couldn't erase what I had felt completely. I had loved her after all… In retrospect, though, I doubt I would have done anything different if the situation had happened now. Maybe it would have ended even worse… I have grown to be very vengeful, you know… And if I have learned one thing, then it is how to break things most effectively and to be weary of people… And how to close my heart off…" The brown-red haired girl said with a weak voice and Chloe saw that tears had finally found their way to the other girl's eyes, now silently rolling down her cheeks. "But not to you. I could never have closed my heart off to you, Chloe… Not in a million lifetimes…" The shorter girl smiled weakly at the blue-nette, who was still crying, seeking her eyes for the first time after having told her story. Seeking anything that would reaffirm her that she wouldn't be rejected by the only person she still trusted besides her dad. The only person who really mattered to her anymore after all those years.

What she found instead in the next moments was that she was crushed in a tight hug that nearly threatened to suffocate her as the punk-girls embrace pressed her against the older girls' body. Chloe cried and tried to stifle the sobs by burying her head in the crook of Max's neck. The rock-girl could feel the other woman shake and this time it was her turn to return the tight hug and murmur soothing words in the other girls ear, instinctively placing small soft kisses on the older girls neck. They stayed like that for a long while, before the taller girl had calmed down enough for them to release each other from the embrace so they could pack away the laptop and the dishes. The high from the weed had been washed away by the heavy story, leaving the two girls emotionally exhausted, but oddly with an even stronger bond than they had before. None of them spoke, but they could feel it, as if it was a real tangible thing that was connecting them physically and emotionally. Something had unravelled in them leaving the core it had held to be seen by the respectively other, making words obsolete for this very moment.

When they finally slipped under the blanket they immediately sought each other's closeness and shifted so that they would both be comfortable even when sleeping in a tight embrace. For a long time they just lay there without saying a word, just looking into each other's eyes, locked in a silent conversation, which was only conveyed by their heartbeats, before sleep slowly took hold of them.

"Max?" Chloe spoke up in a small voice - still raw and raspy from all the crying - as she watched the young woman she embraced so tightly, who seemed to already have fallen asleep. The girl so close to her that their noses nearly touched half-opened her eyes and smiled lazily at the blue-haired punk-girl.

"Can I kiss you?" The punk-girl asked and felt a little proud for not stumbling as she asked her questions.

Instead of answering, however, Max leaned in a little closer and placed a warm, soft kiss on her lips. It tasted sweet, but not too much, hot, but not burning her, longing, but with restrain as if to reassure her that everything would be fine, and soft, familiar, like it was the most natural thing in the world. Like it was the only way it was supposed to be… And for that shortest of moments everything in Chloe's head went blank with the only exception of the tough yet frail woman she held so close that she could feel how strong her heart beat and how softly she breathed. For that shortest of moments Chloe had forgotten about everything else in the world, for even if Rachel had been her angel throughout all those years, in this briefest of moments, for the first time as she thought about it in earnest, she felt complete. Like the last missing piece of the puzzle had finally been found after a long search and placed in its rightful place where it belonged – at the centre of her heart.

And then just as sudden as the moment had come it had already passed and the rock-girl's lips were no longer on hers. However, the immediate sensation of loss was somewhat softened when the semi-conscious girl with brown-red hair shifted and snuggled back against Chloe in such a position that her head rested right above the punk-girls' racing heart. Still, with all that had transpired today, Chloe's thoughts and feelings had been sent for a big tumble and she expected not to be able to fall asleep at all and already started to think how to react to all of this tomorrow, when reality would set in and hit her with its full force… She didn't even notice how she drifted off to sleep in the other girls embrace barely a few minutes later.

* * *

-Right here in my arms-

* * *

The next morning arrived, in Chloe's opinion at least, offensively early. Well, it was technically already way past ten o'clock, but taking into account last night's endeavours and the long discussion, if you could call it that, that they had had, it seemed still too early to get out of bed. Still, she was surprised that it really hadn't been a dream, when a certain rock-gal stirred next to her. Somewhere in the night they had changed their sleeping poses and Max now lay curled up beside her with Chloe having wrapped herself around the other girl. A subconscious gasp escaped Max's lips as the brown-red haired girl stirred again.

Only now did Chloe understand why the other girl had stirred in the first place – she had unconsciously placed one of her hands under the younger woman's shirt right on one of her breasts. Realising what situation she was in the punk-girl quickly retracted her hand and 'unwrapped' herself from the other girl so that she now lay flat on her back next to the rock-girl. Still, one sleepy, but impishly annoying voice in her head popped up. ' _Soft and a perfect size. Unconscious Chloe – point for you._ ' She groaned. With everything that had happened, with everything Max had told her – how could she still think such things now?

Just as she was about to mentally chastise herself she heard a rather unladylike yawn from the woman next to her that without opening her eyes stretched on the bed like a cat, before rolling on one side so that she could see the punk-girl as she opened her eyes. There was a sleepy, dreamy smile on her face. And Chloe felt her heart start to race and her cheeks to grow lightly hot at the sight.

"Slept well, Maxi-pad?" She murmured, hoping the other girl didn't hear her heart hammering in her chest.

"Mhm. I had the strangest dream. We were at a lake somewhere and it was night, but the moon was shining very brightly, so we didn't need any other lights to see the scenery. But the most shocking part was that you insisted on singing ' _Bury me deep inside your heart_ ' by HIM and you _could_ actually sing well." The rock-gal gave her a cheeky grin.

"Hey, what is that supposed to mean? I can sing!" Chloe pouted a bit, but couldn't keep the smile from spreading on her face. She propped herself up on her elbows as Max stretched again and got up to a sitting position on the bed, before taking her camera from her bag, which she had placed next to the bed the previous night.

"Wanna take a picture of the greatest duo in superhero history?" Max grinned at the blue-nette, already angling the camera so that it would shoot a photo with both of them on it.

"Sure. Want me to strike a heroic pose?" Chloe laughed amused at Max's suggestion.

"Naah, just get over here and close to me." Max smiled again. That smile felt so warm and close for Chloe, that she actually couldn't say anything for a second and just did as Max asked.

"Blue and Red – Taking over the World, the movie. Soon in the cinema in your town." Max chuckled as she looked fondly at the picture she had just shot, as if it was the most dear thing in the world to her.

"Hell yeah! Yesterday – Blackhell, tomorrow – the world! We have to step it up, Max!" Chloe enjoyed this light banter they had started. She hadn't forgotten a thing of what Max had told her the night before, but she didn't want to bring more up just yet. ' _Let her chill and have some peace for a change. Don't be too selfish – she will tell you everything that is left given time._ ' She lay back down again, just enjoying that for the moment nothing seemed to be able to sour the mood of the two of them. "Wouldn't it be wicked if we could just hang out here forever like we used to, when we were kids?"

"Yeah, the morning light is so peaceful… Maybe I should get expelled too by burning that place to the ground?" Max only half joked as she got up and went over to where she had spread out her clothes so that they would dry. "Sometimes it's really sad, that we aren't kids anymore, huh?"

"Well, at least you can date now." Chloe propped herself up again and stuck her tongue out at the other girl to show that she was making fun of her age and not about anything that she had talked about yesterday. "My dad was terrified of the day I would discover boys." She snickered and Max gave her a toothy grin understanding Chloe's intention to humour her and at the idea of Chloe's real father's possible reaction.

"Can't really picture with a guy from around here – they all split in the categories: annoying, jocks, nerds and assholes." Max gave her a lopsided grin as she regarded the blue-haired girl half-sitting on the bed. "No wonder you must have felt like the heavens had answered your prayers, when Rachel appeared. Probably crushed hard on her…" She added slightly lowering her eyes, unable to hide the small tinge of sadness in her voice.

"Yeah, though you would have too. Smart, sexy, sassy… Like me, right?" Chloe noticed Max's tone and tried to lighten the mood by making a bit light of the situation, even as it did stung a bit. ' _Rachel is still a thing and we have to find her regardless of how you feel right now._ ' She heard her own voice in her head.

"That part about you I can confirm." Max smiled a bit wickedly at Chloe, apparently glad this didn't grow into a much heavier conversation. "Though I think she would have fought over both of us. Me - the rocker-girl from the big city and you - the punk with the heart of gold."

"You wish! Then again, maybe… If you'd take photography more seriously or her as your primary model? I mean, she wanted to become a model after all." Chloe laughed a bit, amused by the idea, before she remembered something. "Shit! I probably should text Frank that I can give him his money back, so he's off our backs!"

"I could always just roughen him up a bit…" Max crooked her head a bit to one side and placed a hand on her chin striking a pose as if she was seriously thinking about the option.

"No. Bad Max. Quit that." Chloe said sternly, but grinned at the woman with brown-red hair as she texted the dealer. "I know you come from the backwaters of some far away bumpkin-town but here in the great Arcadia Bay we deal with this like civilized folk. Plus, we could use the opportunity to check some things on Frank's side." Her tone grew a bit angry as she remembered him having Rachel's bracelet.

"Sure, sure, lady. Whatever you fancy city-folk like best." The rock-girl rolled her eyes, but smiled none the less. "The only problem is – are we going in our pyjamas? Would it be just the two of us in this town I wouldn't mind, but as it is right now… do you have anything I could borrow?" She walked over to the closet in Chloe's room and opened it.

"Well, there you go. Rachel left a bunch of her clothes with me… She's your size." Chloe picked up the idea and climbed out of bed to stand next to Max.

"But not quite my style." Max commented taking a closer look at the clothes hanging in the closet. It pissed her off a little that she would have to take Rachel's clothes and couldn't take her own, but if the choice was to get something dry and the other to get something that reeked like chlorine for miles against the wind, she'd pick the first option. At least the boots and jacket would be her own.

"At least give it a try, Rock-Max. You can always rewind back to your chlorine brand jeans and sleeveless t-shirt." Chloe teased as she leaned against the closet. "You can afford to take chances. Whenever and whatever you want to try…" She tried to encourage her friend, knowing that this mustn't be an easy thing for her, before a thought struck her and she couldn't get it out of her head. Before she knew, she had already said it. "For example, I dare you to kiss me."

"What?" This seemed to catch the rock-girl oddly off-guard even as it had been her to kiss Chloe yesterday (though Chloe had intended it to be the other way around yesterday evening).

"I double dare you. Kiss me now." Chloe's mouth just seemed to have a mind on its own, which completely ignored the panicked screams of her brain and her heart.

She didn't even manage to blink when she found Max's lips firmly locked on hers and in the next moment – their tongues wrestling for the upper hand as Max deepened the kiss. This kiss was completely different from the one last night. More urgent, more aggressive, more possessive and with an intensity Chloe hadn't expected. It was hot, steamy and for the lack of a better description – absolutely intoxicating.

As their lips parted again Chloe found herself not wanting it to be over. She knew this was very dangerous for both their hearts, but she just couldn't leave it at that. The moment was fast fleeting and she had to act. She knew what she had felt the evening before, but she was still not sure if she should react to it. How could it be that a person (well, a friend… a really good friend) from her past enters her life and suddenly her whole world is starting to centre on that person? She still had no clarity about Rachel. So how could she feel, what she felt? Was it just pure fear of abandonment or was it some twisted sense of needing to make up to Max for the things she had experienced, which seemed to have been far worse than those she had been through? Or was it something entirely different? It had been a bit over six month since she had seen Rachel for the last time, but had she replaced her with Max already? Had she already betrayed her love for her other best friend? Was she really so selfish? Doubt, guilt, self-loathing and uncertainty gnawed at her, but she seemed to have no control over her hands pulling the smaller woman back in her embrace, nor over her lips who sought the rocker-gals', nor her tongue, who again started to wrestle with Max's tongue. And the brown-red haired girl responded in kind. The kisses grew more desperate and longing, to a level where it was nearly unbearable and things might have escalated further from there, had not the voice in her head asked her all these questions over and over with increasing intensity.

She pulled away and gasped for air as she slowly and begrudgingly let go of the smaller girl.

"Max… I-" She didn't know what to say or how to explain what was going on in her. She felt like the ground would give out under her feet if she so much as dared to breathe at that moment. But the other girl just rested one soft, warm finger on the blue-haired girls' lips and smiled at her, with half-closed eyes, slightly shaking her head.

"Don't say anything, Chloe." Max said and embraced the guilt-ridden punk-girl in a warm, strong and reassuring hug, and added: "I know. So just enjoy the silence." Chloe could feel the other woman smile against the nape of her neck. Max released her from the hug and there was an understanding in her eyes, which Chloe could only attribute to the other girl being actually more mature for her age than her looks might let know. And that the shit she had been through had made her that way. But that look quickly made way for the mischievous trade-mark look the rock-girl had.

"That is, except if you want to text Warren that he has absolutely no chance on scoring with me now." The younger woman teased and grinned. "Not that he actually had in the first place." They both burst out in a short fit of giggles. ' _And just like that she calmed me down. With just… understanding and not pushing or anything…_ ' Chloe thought in wonder about the effect Max had on her as she indeed typed in a message to send to the nerdy young man in question.

"C'mon, dork. I'm hungry and if Joyce is still in the house, I should probably say 'hi', so get your punk-ass moving." The blue-nette was ripped from her thoughts as the rocker-girl smacked her playfully on the bum, which made her turn around blushing furiously only to see that the other woman had already dressed. It suited her – the half-punk, half-metal style.

"Wow. Looking sick, Max." She blurted out so as not to say ' _sexy_ ' after what just happened. "Just, er… let me wake'n'bake first and I'll be down in a minute."

"No chance. If you're gonna hit a blunt, then so am I. I have earned that much as compensation for your assault on my lips." The rocker-girl crossed her arms over her chest and Chloe caught herself again thinking ' _no bra_ ', before she could compose herself again.

"Fine, but you initiated it." She replied holding up her hands in an appeasing gesture to stop any possible answer from the woman standing in front of her.

"As if! And I do have a bra on, girlfriend." Max grinned like the cat who caught the bird. "Though if you stare so much at my chest it might disappear." She laughed again at Chloe's expense, when the flustered girl muttered something beneath her breath about mind reading powers and made her way to roll a reefer, before getting ready for the day. She didn't really think that much about anything while doing all that, as Max sang ' _Right here in my arms_ '. A song from the band HIM as she was later told by the rocker-girl.

The day had started with its ups and downs already, but with the warm buzzing feeling settling in their stomach, the two young women decided they were ready to grab the bull by the horns and teach him a lesson about getting in the way of the duo. After all, had they not decided? It was Blue and Red – taking over the world.


	7. Chapter 7

**WARNING:**

 **All characters and the story upon which this fanfiction is based are property of Dontnod Entertainment and Square Enix. I don't own anything.  
**

 **As this is my first story to be published here, I will be happy about every reviews - both good and bad as only so I can know what I have to improve. :)**

 **Rated M for crude and strong language at times, violence and mature content in later chapters.**

* * *

-First it giveth-

* * *

Joyce was indeed still in the house as her shift at the diner would only start in a couple more hours. She was a bit mildly surprised to find out that Max was in their home and would eat breakfast with them, when the young woman approached her.

"Good morning, Joyce…" Max said a bit sheepishly, when the older woman mustered her from head to toe.

"My, my! Max, are those Rachel's clothes by any chance? If it wasn't for those boots and jacket, I might have mistaken you for her." There was kindness in Joyce's voice. "You fit those clothes well."

"Well, it's more out of necessity, really. But, um, thanks?" Max offered smiling at the woman, who was like a second mother to her.

"Now tell me exactly what you want to chow on?" Joyce asked with amusement in her voice as she saw that the younger woman was maybe even more of a hell raiser than her daughter.

"Well… I could do with what Chloe would have, but I'm all for bacon and eggs." Max grinned a bit. "Though I did kind of expect you to wake us up yelling ' _wakey, wakey – eggs and bakey_ '. Your cooking is just the best and that is actually one of my fondest memories."

"You're hard on luck there, kid. But taking into account that the fridge is half-empty, I take it, that they starve you there at Blackwell." Chloe's mother said, with a knowing look in her eyes, but didn't comment any further. "Well, where is that daughter of mine anyways?" She crooked her neck a bit to see if Chloe was standing behind Max, which made the rocker-girl look around too.

"She's on the swing." Max face-palmed herself and groaned a little bit, when she saw the blue-haired girl swing on the swing giggling like a small child.

"Oh, well…" The older woman next to her sighed but decided to drop the question as to why her daughter was outside, although she could very well guess, and instead walked over to the fridge to get the ingredients for the meal. "Anyhow, after all these years and all that has happened, it's great to see you and Chloe together again. She hasn't had a good friend since you or Rachel… Those clothes remind me so much of her. Such a sweet girl. I'm just hoping she's living large in L.A."

"Hope so too." Max said as she made to help Chloe's mother to prepare breakfast. She couldn't really keep the emotion out of her voice – a mix between jealousy at the girl she didn't know, anger, hurt and sadness. Of course Joyce saw immediately that this topic bothered her and decided to lighten the mood a bit.

"Max Caulfield, are you actually jealous of Rachel?" The diner waitress asked bemused and with a light laugh, indicating she meant to tease the younger woman a bit.

"I know it's not fair against Rachel, but yeah… I am a bit jealous." Max said after a few moments, weighting in her mind what to say and what not to. "She's been around Chloe during these years and I know how much she means to Chloe. I bet she's a cool girl…"

"Oh, she's cool enough, but not so cool that Chloe wouldn't have been telling me she wishes she could be more like you over the past five years." Joyce replied, hoping that this small truth would lift the younger woman's spirits.

"Doubt it. She clearly had pictured a different Max, when she said that, if she said that." Max said and Joyce couldn't deny that seeing Max now it probably had been the case. The next few moments of them preparing breakfast went by in silence and Joyce could tell that Max had something important to tell her. So when the meal was ready she took the opportunity to prompt the young rocker-girl to say, what she had to say.

"Voila. A meal fit for us queens and a king." She smiled at Max. "Go sit at the table, sweetie, and with breakfast served we can talk about all you want to." The older woman, however, doubted that Max really wanted to talk about whatever it was, but that it was more of a thing that she felt she must do. She hadn't spent the time raising her own daughter without practically adopting the daughter of the Caulfields as her second child, just as Ryan and Vanessa had basically declared Chloe to be their second daughter too. Thus she knew – something was up and bothering the young woman next to her and the sooner she would get it out of her system, the better.

When Max had sat down on the chair by the dining table, Chloe's mother brought her a plate with eggs and bacon and went to get a photo-album from the nearby shelf, when she had set the other plates on their respective places.

"Seeing you again made me remember so much." She said as she laid the album between her and the rocker-gal on the table and started to turn the pages. "No doubt these here aren't as good as the ones you make, though." She indicated to the pictures. Some of them had been clearly taken by David, some by Joyce and some by Chloe's late father – William.

"I clearly remember some of the older ones." Max said looking down on a specific photo William had taken. It was the picture he took on the day when he died. "Joyce… I'm sorry, but I have to tell you something. I know my dad hasn't kept much contact with you throughout the years as he has done with other friends, but the reason why is that it pained him too much." Max took in a deep breath to steady herself as she saw the quizzical look on the older woman's face. "Joyce, my mom died. Three years ago. She had lung cancer, but nobody knew or even noticed until it was too late. I know it must be a shock and I'm sorry that I have to bring such bad news…"

"Oh, Max, darling!" Joyce was by her side in the blink of an eye and had her already in a tight hug. Max could feel how hard the news had hit the older woman as they – her mom and Chloe's mom – had been quite the good friends themselves. She could feel the slight tremble in Joyce's voice, but knew that the diner waitress wouldn't cry now. It probably would be late in the evening after her shift had ended and she was home that she would allow herself to mourn her friend. Right now she put her duties as a mom and as a substitute mom for Max as her priorities. "Oh, Max. I'm so sorry for you and Ryan." She stroked Max's hair gently as one would do with one's child, when it has woken up from a nightmare and needed the comfort of its parents. "I can only imagine how hard it must have been for the two of you and although I know this might not be what you want to hear right now – I hope you and your dad can find the strength to move forward with your lives. I know that Vanessa would have wanted for the two of you to be happy."

"Thank you, Joyce." Max said in a small voice. Despite, or maybe because, she had already told Chloe about all of it yesterday, Max still felt like a train had hit her when she told Joyce. However, she had to tell the older woman. She had to tell her the harsh truth. She had all the rights to know.

"If you ever want or need to talk to someone – you can always come to me. You will always find a home in this place." Chloe's mom released the younger woman from her embrace after squeezing her tightly for a last time and went to sit at the other side of the table, just to pick the photo William had taken of Max and Chloe on the day he died. "Max, I know this will hardly console you, as those are scars only time can heal, but I want you to have it. You two were so full of light and I want you to remember that there are good times in life, that life gives us so much joy…" Max didn't really know how to respond to this, as she pocketed the picture. She wanted to say something, but bitterness and hurt can be very tough hurdles to overcome as she had to discover yet again. So she remained quiet, hoping that the older woman wouldn't take it the wrong way.

"Are you guys having a bonding session or something?" The blue-nette entered the room as if on cue. Remaining standing in front of her mother and Max. The look on her face clearly showed that she hadn't expected this, when her mom just stood up and embraced her tightly. After all, it had been quite some time since they had been really close after her mom had married her stepfather.

"Chloe, I would like to have a talk with you." Joyce said as she released her stunned daughter from the hug, before turning a bit so she could address Max. "Max… is it alright if I-?" Max nodded understanding, what Joyce wanted to talk about with Chloe, or at least guessing what she wanted to talk about with the punk-girl. Max quickly cleared her plate of what was left on it, as she had managed to eat the biggest part of the portion when Joyce had shown her the pictures.

"I've finished my plate anyways. Um, I'll just go to Chloe's room and get my stuff…" She replied and went past the two women, but not without mouthing 'Garage' to Chloe as she passed behind Joyce, pointing towards the doors of said room. Max felt a little sick using this situation like this, but hadn't they decided, that they would need to see what David knows about Rachel's and Kate's cases? Hadn't she decided for herself that she would help Chloe? Hadn't Joyce been at home, they would have probably gone to the garage together, but right now – in this situation – it was just an opportunity she was not sure they would get any time soon… Chloe gave her the slightest of nods as her mother indicated her to sit at the table obviously wanting this to be a serious conversation and a long one... As they sat down at the table, Max already was in the garage. Still, she needed to act fast and find as many clues as possible, for despite the possibility that the two women in the living room would talk for a good measure of time, she didn't want to risk too much. However, it did take her quite a few rewinds 'till she got what she hoped was she was looking for – access to the security guards' laptop he seemed to have forgotten in the garage. Her search of the garage for other clues had been relatively fruitless, but what she had found made her reconsider the security guards' personality. Maybe he wasn't as much of an asshole, as she thought… Still, it would take a lot more to convince her to take him of her 'target-list'.

"Ok, let's take a look at what you know, Mr. Leisure-detective." The rocker-girl mumbled as she started to go through the various files on the computer. Surprisingly it didn't take much of a search to get to the folders and files about the Blackwell students. The former soldier seemed to keep extensive records of any 'suspicious' activity of the students. Some were articles or snippets of information; some were word documents, pictures from the net and so on. Some were about the Vortex Club, about Kate, some about Nathan and Victoria, some were about her. None of them had too much information in them actually, mostly the veteran's own suspicions and thoughts.

' _Bingo!_ ' The brown-red haired girl thought, when she finally found something about a certain missing young woman named Rachel Amber. These files seemed to be more orderly, as if the Blackwell security officer had paid special attention to her. ' _Well, figures. Chloe was all over her for all I know…_ ' She was scrolling through the files, when something specific caught her attention – a pdf-file of a police report about Rachel being under the suspicion of having brought drugs to the Academy. But what was most interesting, were the notes David had added. And, a certain picture showing Rachel and Frank together. Max's stomach turned at the sight – it reminded her too much of what she had experienced and she hoped that Chloe would be spared to experience something similar… Despite feeling a little sick about this all, she continued her search for a couple more minutes, but it was rather fruitless and she stopped there.

After exiting the garage she quickly ran up the stairs to the second floor and rewound so that when she came down the stairs again it seemed she had been in Chloe's room all along. ' _Damn, I'm getting good at this…_ ' She allowed herself a bit of self-admiration at the trick she had just pulled, despite the serious situation. It seemed however that in spite of the conversation starting about, what Max supposed was Joyce 'informing' Chloe about Vanessa's death, the conversation had turned sour quickly as the older woman was standing in the kitchen and the younger one still sitting at the table munched down on her food without even looking at the diner waitress.

The situation, however, turned even more awkward and uncomfortable as Chloe's stepfather entered the house through the front door just at the moment when Max was about to suggest for her and Chloe to get on their way.

"David, you're back already?" Joyce asked surprised as she saw her husband take off his shoes and walk towards the set table.

"Yeah, I have to take a nap after writing up vandalism reports last night." The security guard said tiredly, seeming all worse for wear. "Some little shitass punks broke into the swimming pool and into the principal's office. This is what happens at these P.C. bullshit colleges. Entitled students taking over the campus."

"Do you know for sure it was the Blackwell students?" Joyce asked trying to calm the situation as she saw that the former soldier was getting worked up. It was no wonder really though – he took his job seriously and was tired from a long and stressful night.

"Who else would do it? And I'm going to bust them." David said and waved a hand in the air indicating he was just too tired of the whole topic to really want to talk about it. Once he saw Max standing a bit further away from Chloe he seemed to change his mind however. "Figures you'd be here… Is that your Rachel Amber Halloween costume?" He seemed not to really want to go into this conversation, but his temper had gotten the better of him.

"Look, Mr. Madsen, you said, I could talk to you whenever I had a hard time and just as it is – it is a hard time for me now, plus you seem to know more about her than me, and I would like to take you up on that offer on consultation." Max didn't even have to fake the sincerity in her voice, which was on par with the aggressiveness that came naturally to her, when she was confronted with accusations – true or false.

This seemed to take the security guard, as well as the two women in the room a bit aback, but all regained their composure rather quickly.

"Well, I really am tired right now, but if you insist…" the man seemed to be reluctant and truly tired, but at the same time he managed to sound grateful as no argument had yet come to pass from this conversation. "Still, I'd like to take at least a little time off from today…"

"No, I don't insist. Nonetheless, I'd like to talk to you about some things concerning Rachel." Max's tone was kind enough but left no room for interpretation – she would talk to him and get to know what she wanted. "But Chloe has promised me to bring me back to the Academy and as it is I've already missed the morning classes. Best we get going before I miss the midday classes too." She gave Chloe a look that could only be read in one way - ' _Don't start shit now. We get out and talk about it later._ ' She had notice how the blue-haired girl had clenched her fists as the security guard had talked about the incident at the pool and her mentioning Rachel. She knew Chloe would have exploded on him if he had continued down that track or said anything about Rachel.

"Yeah, right. So if you don't mid, we're getting the hell outta here." Chloe stood up grudgingly and went up the stairs to her room get her stuff, leaving Max to say her good-bye's to Joyce. With David at home Chloe didn't want to stay any longer than she had to, but she had hoped that she and Max would have more time together to just chill and do nothing. With the ex-soldier in the house though it was not really possible. She felt a bit cheated and was deep in thought, when she noticed the other girl entering her room.

"So what's the plan, Punk-girl?" Max asked in a low voice as she closed the door. "Seems like we can't really stay here as you and security-douche can't even stay in the same room for five minutes without getting at each other's throats. Still, would be kind of a waste of a relatively good midday if I'd have to go to the Academy right away…" She said while picking up her things. It seemed that she'd have to stuff the still slightly wet clothes and her other stuff in her rucksack. ' _Well, sacrifices have to be made…_ ' The rock-girl thought as she started to do exactly that.

"Hey, give me a break! That prick is making me want to leave my own house the moment I see him here." The older girl replied a little snappy and with a bit of anger in her voice. The discussion with Joyce and now her step-father coming home early had seriously soured her mood. "Besides, what was that about Rachel?" She decided to change the topic. This morning's events already started to fade out in her memory as her thoughts began to again circle around the one thing they had for the past months – Rachel Amber and a way to find out where she was or what had happened to her. After all, had she not loved Rachel? Didn't she still love her? She needed to know…

"Chloe…" This was not a good start. The punk-girl could already feel the knots starting to form in her stomach at the tone in which Max spoke – it meant something was up. "Listen, when I went through David's laptop in the garage, I found pictures of Rachel and Frank… being more than just friends…"

"Right. No way, Max. She was just posing to tease Frank." The blue-nette didn't like where this was going. The thing Max had just said alone was enough to send her thoughts stumbling and her heart lurching. She wanted to deny that thought, but he had had her bracelet… ' _No, there is probably a different explanation to this. He stole it. Yeah, that's right. He probably stole it…_ ' Still, she had had doubts as she knew that Rachel had hung out with the dealer in the past too…

"If you don't believe it, why don't we see if we can get into Frank's RV and check out what he's got there?" The rocker-girl replied, still hoping to be proven wrong, by what they might or might not find in the dealer's mobile home. She had packed her stuff and was ready for take-off. "He has Rachel's bracelet. What else has he got in there? Besides don't you have to pay him back the money anyways?" That seemed to settle matters for Chloe as she picked up the last of her things and put on her trademark beanie-hat.

"Right, pay back…" It was helpless anger and part fear that made Chloe react so snappy at the girl with brown-red hair. But she had already made up her mind about what to do next. "Though motherfucker better not have anything. For his sake…"

It didn't take them five minutes and they were already in Chloe's truck and on their way, leaving the slightly stunned security officer and the diner waitress, who were still sitting in the living room at the table, to their own things to do.

* * *

-Smooth Criminal-

* * *

"Let's check the door. Frank gets so wasted that he sometimes forgets to lock it." The punk-girl said as they pulled into the parking lot at the diner, where she had last seen Frank's RV. It was still parked there and she had actually spotted Frank sitting in the diner eating something.

"Didn't you say he has a dog too?" The other girl asked as they got out of the truck and walked over to where the RV was standing.

"Oh, shitballs!" The slightly older woman face-palmed herself as they reached the mobile home and she could hear a dog barking in it. She had completely forgotten about the dog as she had solely concentrated on how to get into the RV and hoping that they wouldn't find anything. Going face to face against the drug-dealer's dog was definitely not something she wanted to do. "Okay, here's the plan. I'll go to the diner to distract Frank by telling him I have his money, but he has to come with me. Then you come in and can rewind so Frank doesn't see me, then you can tell Frank he needs to check out his RV and then you can rewind after you get the key, and…" She tried to come up with some sort of plan, but when she said it out loud it didn't sound as solid, as it had in her head.

"Look, Chloe, I really like you getting all imaginative, but I got this. I'll be right back." The younger woman sighed and rolled her eyes, before a slight grin appeared on her face. "Still, cool plan. Even if not the most thorough one."

"Don't let my epic plan get in the way of yours." The punk-girl sulked a bit, but let it drop. Max had proven to have a better head on her shoulders for break-ins than she had anyways. "I'll try to scrounge up a Scooby snack to distract his mangy mutt…" With that she turned and walked over to the trash bins in the corner of the parking lot, right next to the backdoor of the diner, and started looking for some leftovers she could use as dog-bait.

' _Okay, Rocker-woman. Time to get some keys and kick ass._ ' The rocker-girl thought as she walked over to the diner. ' _This will be certainly fun._ ' But, before she entered the diner her phone buzzed and made a knocking noise. It was a message from her dad.

'Maxine, Pop here. I know your mom would have been just as proud of you saving that girl, as I am. I have no doubt sending you to Blackwell was the best thing you ever demanded me to do. :) It makes me so proud to read about you in the news and see actual video of you walking down from the roof with that girl. And if you would like to come back home now to relax, you know I'd be more than happy. Love, Pop.' Max knew her father missed her a lot and worried about her even more. He'd written her nearly every weekend and although she hadn't always replied, she knew how happy he'd be to hear from her. Now probably even more than before… Over the last two years her relationship with her father had improved again and he'd started to get back to his cheery demeanour, even with Max still rebelling against him and the school authorities and those outside of the school. He was just happy to see his little girl do something again with her life, even if it was anger that was driving her… He really loved her and she knew that deep down in her heart she missed him too, but there was no way in hell that she'd go back to _that_ city just yet. She could feel the anger bubbling up in her at the thought alone...

'Thanx, Pop, but not gonna come home just yet. Talk later. Max' She sent the short reply. He meant well and she didn't want to vent her anger at her father. Still, thinking about the city brought back ugly memories and riled her up – not something she needed now as for once she had wanted to play things cool-ish…

She tried not to kick the door of the diner, when she entered, but taking in the rather empty restaurant made it quite clear that it probably wouldn't go as smooth as she wanted it to. Frank was sitting at one booth eating what appeared to be a simple broth made of beans, looking more miserable than anything else. A cop was sitting further away having coffee. And off all the people she had hoped not to see today – Nathan Prescott was sitting at the other end of the diner glaring daggers at everything and anything, probably here to buy drugs from the dealer. Seeing the young man nearly let Max slip into rage-mode and it took her quite a while to calm down enough as to be sure, to not right-out kill the guy or vent her anger on the dealer. It was one thing to talk to a person you nearly shot the other day, but it was way more stressful when you are enraged…

The girl with the black nose-piercing slammed her fist down on the table, where Frank sat as much to make him look up from what could be his last supper if he said the wrong things now, as well as to take out at least a small portion of her anger on something. Luckily for her though the police-officer didn't seem to have noticed the small ruckus she made.

"You show up after almost shooting me? You have serious balls, little girl." The slightly startled man said with anger and annoyance heavy in his voice. "But hanging out with Chloe, playing with guns and dressing like Rachel doesn't make you cool or tough. Now, the fuck do you want?"

"Listen up you, fucker. I want to get over this before I seriously murder someone in the presence of the police, so don't start giving me shit, 'cause I swear – you do that and getting nearly shot by me will be the last of your worries." Max sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose and shut her eyes with one hand, while continuing to make small punches with her fist on the table. "Look, I want to buy something from you. So _would you kindly_ get your ass over to your RV, so I don't have to break something, like your fingers for example? And how the fuck do you know these are Rachel's clothes?"

"Because she looks beautiful in them and you look like ass." The sorrow in the older man's voice made the angry rocker-girl overlook the comment about her, but it didn't lessen her anger. "And no, I won't sell anything to you, you crazy punk. You think I'd forget you nearly shot me in just one day? Now get out of my face. You're fucking creeping me out."

With a sweep of her hand Max sent the plate with the beans and the can of soda flying and nearly punched the stunned and angered man in the face, before she rewound. If she could not get the keys this way, she had to find another. And if she could vent her anger in the process – why the hell not? She could rewind after all. The thought nearly made her want to punch the man after all, but knowing how her powers failed her with Kate – maybe not risk too much or at least not now…

' _Keep calm, Mad Max. No need to murder people in broad daylight, even if we could totally pull a_ 'magic trick' _a la Joker_.' Max thought as she simply walked away from the man sitting in the booth. ' _Maybe I could chat up that officer, or even get Nathan to talk, by crippling that little fucker and then rewinding…_ ' The later seemed a much better idea as it offered the possibility of slightly roughening up the younger man. An evil smile spread on the young woman's face as she walked over to the booth and the certain man in question after getting a few bits of useful information out of the officer after a few rewinds. ' _So far so good and now for the really_ good _part._ '

"Rachel?" Nathan almost sounded happy as he turned to see who had just walked up to his table and at first mistook the girl in front of him for someone else. When he saw his mistake though, his reaction changed accordingly. "Whatevathefuck? Oh, look – 'Max Amber'. Nice outfit. By the way, thanks for getting me fucking expelled, you twee bitch!" He practically spat at her, but nearly yelped up in pain, when she kicked him hard in the side of his torso.

"This is a public place, you little stick-turd." Max leaned in a bit and her voice was so menacing that the stunned man actually forgot that he could react in any other way than just widening his eyes and moving a bit further to the window. "Let's not make more of a scene here, than we need to, hm? So you little dumb fuck, I bet Frank hooked you and Rachel Amber up with party supplies?"

"Nice try. Rachel partied like a fiend on her own. More than me." The young man seemed to regain his composure a bit and there was anger swinging in his voice. "Even that pig over there knows Rachel hung out more with Frank." Nathan threw a thumb over his shoulder indicating to the police officer.

"Oh, is that right, dipshit? Speaking about Frank, I heard your dad hired a local cop to keep an eye out on you and him, like a babysitter." Max placed a boot on the booth-chair and leaned in thumping a fist on the table, which made the young man slightly flinch.

"Bullshit! My dad doesn't hire, he owns. And these pigs know better than to narc on me." The man said trying to focus not to appear intimidated by the rocker-girl, who had given him a nice reminder of how violent she could be. He had experienced her hitting him once and the bruise was still there, plus he had heard from Victoria what Max was capable off. "But Frank's eventually gonna get busted, which is not on me. That guy is into some weird shit. He told me he once took a weird blood oath for Rachel… Uh, forget I told you that. Seriously." He caught himself before blabbing out more. "Now get off my crack, whore and keep your piehole shut." He added angrily as his anger seemed to give him enough confidence to show his rage-side.

"You had my curiosity, but now you have my attention. Please, do speak up. I can't hear you telling me more about that blood oath Frank took for Rachel." The smile on Max's face widened a bit as she slammed her fist into the man's shoulder and grabbed him roughly by the hair before tossing his head back a bit. He hissed sharply in pain, but muffled his outcry as the look in the girl's eyes was purely murderous. How could he be intimidated by this fucking punk-bitch? How could anyone lay a finger on him? How could she dare? The stunned and battered man was reminded of how only the other diner waitress, who happened to be Chloe's mother, really cared for some sort of order in the diner, when the rocker-girl flicked a finger against his bruised brow ripping him out of his thoughts and nobody batted an eye. "I asked you something, you dickhead." Her tone was ice.

"Rachel wanted Frank's stash. She let him take pictures. Then he carries around her photo like she posed for love. Dumbass." He replied the rage, embarrassment and sudden fear that had emerged in him wrestling for control in his mind. "I will fucking sue you for this!"

"You will do exactly shit!" Max said in a low intense voice as she grabbed the man's hair again and slammed his head hard against the table, before rewinding exactly to the point where she had just walked over to the cop and chatted him up. She had the info she needed and her satisfaction of making the young Prescott whimper in pain, even if she had to rewind and pretend it never happened. ' _Well, I'll get to do that again and hopefully without the need to rewind. He's a lot to pay for and this was only an appetiser…_ '

"What the fuck now?" The drug dealer looked up when Max sat down in the booth-chair in front of him. The annoyance in his voice nearly made Max want to pull the little stunt she had done with the young man a few moments ago on him too, but refrained from it – her mood had improved quite a bit and she smiled evilly at the man instead.

"You know, I saw the photo Rachel gave you." This seemed to surprise and catch the man completely off-guard.

"Ugh… How d'you know 'bout that, huh? Chloe, right?" The man replied with a bit of suspicion swinging in his voice.

"She just told me that one of Rachel's favourite pictures was the one she did for you." Max lied without batting an eye.

"Really? Yeah, I mean that's what I thought. She was just a natural beauty, y'know." The man still didn't seem to be completely convinced, but seemed to be a bit more at ease with this topic, even eager to comply, like it was something that brightened his day... "Wait-wait let me… lemme find it… here, judge for yourself." He added somewhat affectionately as he started to cram out the content of his pockets until finally finding the picture. She indeed was pretty… but Max had locked her eyes on a different item the man had produced from his pockets – the key to the RV.

"Whelp, you know it's been a real pleasure talking to you asshole, but I'll have to take the keys now. So, see ya 'round asswipe." The brown-red haired woman said as she stood up and snatched the keys from the table dangling them in front of the man's face.

"You did not just do that… Give me back my keys, bitch!" Frank started to get up from the booth but was stopped dead in his attempt to follow the girl as Max's shin connected to his left knee and nearly bent it in as to contact the other. She hadn't intended to use so much force, but it was a defence mechanism… or at least she told so herself, when she rewound as the man started to howl in pain. ' _I warned him not to start anything, didn't I?_ ' She rewound to the part where she had just come over to his booth again, just to be sure.

' _Key brought. Now let's see if I have to take care of the dog too in case Chloe hasn't found anything to occupy the dogs mind for the time we get into the RV._ ' She allowed herself to grin a bit impishly – with the rage-burst out of her system the prospect of breaking into the mobile home with Chloe seemed more fun. ' _Still, let's hope he hasn't anything else about Rachel in there…_ ' The grin vanished nearly as fast as it had appeared.

"I should have known… The Amazing SpiderMax." Chloe chuckled a little as she saw the other girl coming over to where she was leaning against the RV and dangling the keys to the door in front of her nose.

"With great power and all that shit. Yada, yada. Right." Max grinned again – seeing Chloe's eyes light up with amusement, even if it was for her stunt and they still had to check out the RV, had this effect on her. "Now let's get in and out."

"Okay, on your mark, Max." Chloe said as she unlocked the door and gave Max a bone she had dug up from the trash-can. "Three. Two. One. Throw." She swung the door open and the dog instantly leaped in Max's direction.

"Get the treat-treat, boy." The young woman reacted quickly and threw the bone towards the far end of the parking lot. The dog seemed to be more than happy to oblige as it bound after the bone. "Well, that dog seems to be our bitch now." The grinned at Chloe, who again looked like she had wanted to say the exact same thing, but Max had beat her to the punch. "C'mon, time's a wastin'." She said as she got into the RV and motioned Chloe to follow her.

* * *

-Dial;-

* * *

"Damn, and I thought my room was a shithole." The rocker-girl said as Chloe had just climbed into the mobile home and they both took in the look that presented them. It was really a mess. "At least I'm not a fucked up drug dealer…"

"Frank has his issues, but he's not so fucked up as one might think. At least that is what I thought until I saw him with Rachel's bracelet." Chloe replied as she strolled over to the drivers' seat, her mood seemingly slightly improving as when she sat down in the big and comfy looking seat. "Oh, we could cruise everywhere in this bad boy. Can you see us heading down the coast to Big Sur and beyond?" She asked excitedly. She liked the idea of her and Max just living like that – on the move, with no real boundaries and no ties to hold them down, just chilling and doing whatever they want, whenever they want, wherever they want – just the two of them. Maybe even continuing from where she had broken off the _thing_ happening back in her room this morning…? ' _And what about Rachel?_ ' The tiny voice in her head had to sour her mood immediately, but it was right – what about Rachel? She still didn't know what she felt or how she really felt and if she was sure this was what she wanted. ' _Well, the last part – sure and I think I know, but – ugh! Not now, okay? Let's just focus on one thing at the time. And this time around it is answers we are looking for._ '

"Sure, we'd be tearing up the highway and I'd show you all the great bands you missed out while only listening to punk-rock." The rocker-gal teased and stuck her tongue out at the blue-nette. "However, we're on schedule, Chloe. Let's find what we need and get the hell outta here before the angry mutt comes back or his dog decides to show up."

"I know, just daydreaming." The punk-girl said grinning slightly at how cute the other girl could look when she teased. "You scope the area, while I hack his computer for info." She sighed as she walked over to where the PC was standing and started to look for clues. It did not take long for her to crack the password and get into his profile and despite the seriousness of the situation she just couldn't let the moment pass without making a jibe at the man's expense. "Crappy wi-fi here though. Must take him days to download porn."

"Chloe, yuck. You know I'm like standing in the area that is the warped image of a man-cave slash bed room of a drug dealer, right? I don't want that info in my head." She could hear the other woman say in disgust from the farther end of the RV.

It did take Max some time to find anything that might offer a clue about Rachel's and Frank's relationship in all that mess that the man called his abode, but when she saw the vent in the bed room looking kind off torn, she decided to see if she could pry it open. She took the knife she had earlier seen in the area that made up the living-space of the RV and went to work with it on the already damaged looking vent. It opened nearly instantly and without her using much force.

' _You sure know where the good stuff is hidden, Garrett._ ' She thought priding her _Thief_ skills as she took out what appeared to be a diary of sorts from the opened vent. ' _Now let's take a look._ ' But the more she saw in the small book, the more she disliked what she saw. The more it reminded her of her own past – longer ago and more recent. The more disgusted she grew of the clothes she wore right now. The more her anger grew at the girl called Rachel Amber. The more she wanted to wring a specific someone's neck. She slammed the diary shut and walked over to where Chloe was sitting. It made her stomach turn to think that she had to show this to Chloe, still – she deserved the truth. She leaned in and placed her findings on the keypad before Chloe, letting her take in the information.

"It makes me ill that Rachel posed like this for Frank… or wrote him love letters." The blue-haired girl finally said with growing anger in her voice after a long silence, which followed when she had read and looked at the content of the small book. "I can't believe she was banging Frank! Rachel straight up lied to my face!" There was hurt in her voice too. "Why didn't she say anything…? Guess she wasn't much of a friend, huh? Just another person who shits all over me. Why does everybody in my life let me down? My dad gets killed, you bail on me for years, my mother gloms onto step-fucker and now Rachel betrays me…"

"Chloe, Rachel is missing. I'm not going to try to paint it all in black or white, 'cause that's just bullshit, but nobody betrayed you, if you look at it." The rocker-girl's temper flared up again, this time at her friend's accusation. She knew Chloe was hurt and vented that hurt on her right now too, but she had just the night before told her nearly every fucking detail about her own miseries and now this? "And if you have forgotten – I didn't want to move, I didn't want to leave your side, I fucking didn't betray you and I am fucking back at your side if you haven't noticed! And if you think I have, then fucking thank you very much! I have gone through a ton-load of shit and getting fucked over and over again! I even fucking told you!" She could barely keep her anger in check. "Ugh! Just… Fuck!" She hit the wall of the RV next to the door as the kick she gave the door nearly took them out of the hinges. She stormed out of the RV and over to the bus stop. She was positively fuming right now and didn't even bother to look back at the blue-haired punk-girl who had scrambled to follow her, with the look of utter self-loathing, shame and hurt on her face.

"Max! Come on, don't be that way. Please. I'm sorry." Chloe pleaded with the girl with brown-red hair as she pulled over with her truck, which she had started and driven over to the bus stop, when she saw that Max made no attempts to even stop and wait for her. She opened the door to the passenger seat. "Please, Max, just let me gather my thoughts and… uh… I'll drive you to the Academy."

The look Max gave her at that moment chilled her to the bone. It was more than she could bear – she had seen the rocker-girl upset, hurt and pained, but this time her friends unbound, seething anger was focused on her. And it _was_ her fault. Hadn't the other girl told her, how hard life had fucked her over? What she had been through? Had she not trusted Chloe enough to tell her about all of it? Had Max not done enough in these last days to prove that she actually deeply cared about her and regretted ever moving, and now was reunited with her and finally at least a bit happy? Had she not brought Chloe happiness too, which she had not experienced since Rachel had disappeared? ' _Goddamn, it makes this and all I've experienced look like child's play. And I just fucking wail in self-pity and vent everything on her… Fucking great job, Chloe. You hurt your friend. Again. The only person that came back to you. Well fucking done…_ '

"Max, please-" She started again, but was cut short, when the smaller woman got into the truck and closed the door with a bang. She didn't look at Chloe, nor did she say anything, but the tears in her eyes and the look on her face spoke volumes. For a while they just drove in silence. Chloe didn't know what to say or where to start.

"Look, Max, I'm sorry. I really am." She tried again; there were tears in her eyes too. "It hurts and I took it out on you… I'm sorry. I just-… I just don't know how to handle this or if I can handle this or what to do…" The girl next to her didn't reply or even looked her way. "I'm sorry, Max. I know it's not fair for me to blame you… It's just that none of this makes me feel better about my fucked-up life, you know?" ' _Ugh, even in my own ears that sounds lame as hell…_ ' She groaned.

"So who do you wanna blame then, huh?" The first response from the brown-red haired girl since she got into the truck and it made Chloe's gut twist into even more knots, but at the same time it sent a new jolt of anger through Chloe as she thought about the question.

"My fucking dad of course…" There was more anger in her voice than she had intended to let through. "He chose to go out of that door and leave me forever…" The silence stretched on for a while, before the blue-haired girl let out a deep sigh and continued. "I know, he didn't really 'choose' to 'leave' me… Mom actually blames herself… just because she wanted a ride home from work. Sometimes even I blame her… I wish thinking it was just a terrible accident would make me feel better, but it doesn't. Ever since he died my life has been dipped in shit…" Again she realised too late, what she had just said. What she had said to her friend, who had experienced even more pain and anguish due to her mother dying and blaming it on everybody else, on her mother, on her father, but most of all on herself. ' _Jesus! Fuck! Can you for once shut up? You never really received a clear answer from Rachel about your relationship in the first place, did you? You knew she partied hard and was just as much enjoying the company of guys and then you go and tell everything you just said to the girl, who had her heart ripped out by really lying and abusing bitch and who tried to kill herself 'cause she couldn't bear constantly blaming herself or everybody else and went through hell and what not? God, why do I fuck everything up so much?_ '

"Shit, Max, I-…" She couldn't finish what she wanted to say, even if it would have been another lame 'I'm sorry' as they had just arrived at the Blackwell Academy and she had pulled over. Max just took her bag and got out of the truck. Not even looking back. "Max!" Chloe shouted after the leaving girl from her seat in a pleading voice, which only stopped the woman with brown-red hair to take a short hurt-filled look over her shoulder, before she continued her way to the dorms.

"Fuck. Just brilliant work, Price!" Chloe hit the steering wheel in frustration. This would take some serious mending from her part, but for now she would have to get back to her home or her hideout so she could come up with a way to apologize to the woman she had hurt with her carelessness. It was only, when she had arrived back at her home (she had figured David would be away already and Joyce would be at the diner by this time, so it was safe enough to ponder aloud in the comfort of her own room) and brought the truck to a halt, when she noticed two photos which had apparently fallen out of Max's bag, when it was lying on the floor of the truck at her feet a short time ago. As she picked them up her heart squeezed in her chest. One was showing Max's startled expression in what appeared to be a classroom. The other had apparently shot just this morning, probably a few couple of hours before Chloe had woken up, with Max angling the camera over the sleeping form of Chloe, who had squeezed the smaller girl close to herself and Max was placing an affectionate kiss on the blue-haired woman's forehead. The look on the rocker-girls face, even with her eyes closed in the photo, could be only described as loving, caring and truly happy. To Chloe's surprise she had even managed to scribble the something on the both pictures. The first one had the time and place on it - was the early morning of two days ago in the photography classroom. The other one had a different text on it in very small letters so that it would fit – ' _I keep on playing our favourite song, I turn it up while you're gone, It's all I've got when you're in my head. And you're in my head, so I need it. – gotta love my Blue-Jay'_. Max probably hadn't meant for Chloe to find this picture, but she had and it hit her hard, bringing new tears to her eyes. This time partially out of regret for how much she had hurt the girl giving her a kiss in that picture and partially out of joy she still couldn't really explain to herself. Still – it didn't change the situation she was in… ' _Right. Get your shit together, Chloe. You hurt the one person, who you absolutely shouldn't have. Not it's time to pay up and apologize in earnest._ ' She thought as she pocketed the photos and wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

* * *

\- Revenge-

* * *

On the other side of the town in the girl's dorms of the Blackwell Academy a certain rocker-girl had decided to skip classes for the rest of the day. Unlike her usual self today she just couldn't shove all the thoughts out of her head by rocking out and playing along her favourite songs… She didn't know how long she had just laid there on her bed crying, angry at herself being angry at Chloe, desperate to hear the other woman's voice in the affectionate tone she had had just this morning, wanting to be near her and at the same time dreading it. It was not fair how she reacted to Chloe or how Chloe had acted on her… It took her a while to regain her composure, enough to at least get off her bed and wipe her reddened eyes. She booted up her laptop and put on a playlist on, for her standards, surprisingly low volume. Still deep in thoughts about what had happened in the RV and on the way back to the Academy she nearly unconsciously took out the photo Joyce had given her. She and her best friend looked so happy that day. So fucking happy and innocent… Why had it all gone down the shitter?

It was only after the song ' _Dial; Revenge_ ' by Mogwai had ended, that she actually believed what she had heard and thought to be just memories plopping up in her head – she heard her and Chloe's voices. Voices from the time they had been kids. She looked at the picture and let it drop in shock as suddenly the visuals of the photo started to twist and shimmer.

' _What the fuck?! What the hell is happening now?_ ' The short girl thought as she reluctantly picked up the picture again. Immediately the voices were back – clearer this time, and again the photo started to shimmer and twist. She focused on the photo more out of a weird sense of curiosity than anything else, partially believing she was going insane, when suddenly it flashed white before her eyes and she saw Chloe's biological father standing before the two teenage girls and took the photo from his camera.

"Someday Dad will get one of them new-fangled computers." Chloe chirped beside her excitedly. She was just fourteen years old and still had her strawberry blonde hair.

"I hope the flash didn't scare you, Max." William chuckled a bit. "This is a keeper."

"Not until I see it first! You know the rules, Dad!" Chloe said happily as she walked over to where her father was standing with the photo in his hand. "Max, tell him… Whoa, hey, you look totally pale. Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I-… Uhm… Yeah, I'm fine…" She stuttered. It took all of Max's will not to yell ' _What the actual fuck?_ ' on the top of her lungs at that moment. It was all so surreal. It was all too real. It was real. It was not a memory. She was there again. It took her an even greater amount of willpower to stay standing and not to black out. ' _This is so messed up…_ '

Max didn't really pay attention to the light banter between Chloe and her father. She was far too shocked at what was going on. ' _The fuck? What is this? William is here. And Chloe is just a kid… Am I that far back in time? I'm 18 years old inside my 13 year old self… How? What is happening?_ ' Her thoughts were stumbling one over the other as she took in the scenery before her. It was all like she remembered it. Even the smallest details. Chloe and her dad were still blabbing and making fun of one another, when suddenly the phone rang. ' _Shit, it's that day!_ ' It hit Max like a truck. ' _I have to stop William from taking his car today._ ' Was the first thought that struck her at that moment. She could actually maybe prevent the death of her best friends' father. And after that… maybe even that of her mom…

"Excuse me ladies, I have to go rescue yonder Queen at the Sav-Mart. She doth have many bags of delicious grub for us to feast upon." The older man put down the phone after saying goodbye to Joyce on the other end of the line.

"You are ridiculous." Chloe chuckled from where she was standing in the kitchen.

"You'll be grateful for that someday." Her father replied in amusement. "Shit, where are my keys?"

"That is a dollar for the swear-jar!" Max heard Chloe shouting from the kitchen. ' _Fuck, it's all happening like it did before. Fuck where are those keys? I have to get rid of them!_ '

"You mean your college fund – keys, please." The man said turning to the mess that was on the table in the living room. "A-ha! Can't hide from me forever!" He exclaimed in his happy demeanour as he finally found them.

Max rewound as if on instinct, but to her dismay found that again, like with the time Kate had tried to commit suicide, she could only rewind so far – and this time it was only a few minutes before the fateful phone call. William and Chloe were again standing in the kitchen, happily chatting. She frantically tried to come up with a plan how to prevent the man from leaving the house in his car as she searched for the keys. ' _I have to try! I was put here to use this power. I have to save William. For Chloe… and maybe then… maybe Karma will look more kindly on mom? God there has to be a way to save them! I want to see mom again!_ ' The thought nearly brought her to tears. The prospect of her living a happy life with her family and Chloe doing the same was dangling before her.

Still it took her several rewinds 'till she found the keys in time and could hide them in a place where Chloe's dad wouldn't be able to find them. The agonising feeling of failure had nearly overwhelmed her in the last three times she had rewound after William had found those blasted keys using a tracking tool, regardless of how hard to reach the place was. The fourth time seemed to do the trick, when she simply threw the keys out of the window. The simplest solution _was_ sometimes the best.

"I know I had those keys here… I know it…" The man pressed again the button on the tracking device without receiving any confirmation that the keys were indeed in the house. "Forgot all about you, little buddy… Release the keys!" He muttered to himself walking down the length and width of the living room. "Of course. Last time I order from SpyGuy Electronics…" He finally said with resignation after yet another fruitless attempt to get to know where the keys were.

"You can take the bus, right?" This was Max's moment to shine. She had succeeded. Now only to wrap up the situation. Or so she thought…"The stop is right down the street!"

"This I can do. Good call, Max." The older man smiled at the young girl in appreciation.

"Right? It comes every 15 minutes or so and there'll be plenty of room for you and Joyce and all the groceries and stuff!" Max couldn't contain her excitement. Oh, how she hoped this would work. It was just too good to be true.

"You sold me already. I'm off to yonder bus stop." The man said still smiling, but sighed when he turned for the door. "Joyce will love this…"

"Max, you are being so fucking strange. You feel okay?" Her best friend had come over from the kitchen to see what the commotion was all about.

"Oh, hell yeah! I'm great, Chloe! We are so fucking awesome!" Max couldn't contain the smile spreading on her face and started to jump on the spot excitedly, and for once the slightly older girl with strawberry blonde hair just joined in in her fun and spun her around in a small whirl.

And then, just as suddenly, as Max had been thrown into this 'past' the time or whatever it was she had changed tried to correct itself after the new measurements. Max's vision seemed to blank out and for a split second all turned white again. Memories, which were somehow weirdly ordered as snapshots and pictures of her and Chloe's life started to rush by, changing all the while before settling on something specific. It all felt so fuzzy and warm for one moment, that the excited young woman didn't see the dark edges around her vision at first. And by the time she realised what was happening, how her memories changed, how she changed, what she experienced by changing this one thing – for her friend, for her mom's and her own happiness - it was already past any possibility of stopping. Her vision returned. And everything she had hoped for had gone down the drain…

* * *

 **AUTHORS NOTE:**

 **I'm sorry that it took so long to update this rather small chapter, but work is keeping me very busy at the moment and it can happen that the next chapters will follow in a similar interval (from the release of the last chapter about five days [maximum one week] 'till the next one is released).**

 **Thank you for your understanding and I wish you all a wonderful week.**

* * *

 **SLIGTH SPOILER ALERT:**

 **P.S. Really recommend the Georgian song '** _ **Tu ase turpa iyavi**_ **' sung by Hamlet Gonashvili. It will also play it's part in the upcoming chapter :P ;)**


	8. Chapter 8

**WARNING:**

 **All characters and the story upon which this fanfiction is based are property of Dontnod Entertainment and Square Enix. I don't own anything.** **  
**

 **As this is my first story to be published here, I will be happy about every reviews - both good and bad as only so I can know what I have to improve. :)**

 **Rated M for crude and strong language at times, violence and mature content.**

* * *

\- Dreaming of screaming-

* * *

Her head hurt. No, not hurt – it felt like being ripped apart. The memories setting themselves next to the ones she had from her 'original' past were not removed or overwritten. They were still there, like the universe couldn't decide if she would need those or not and went with the safer option of just leaving a copy there instead of deleting it.

"Max? Are you okay?" The voice of a woman reached her and she felt a light tug on her arm as if someone tried to steady her. The headache subsided slowly and Max managed to open her eyes and take in her surroundings. She was sitting on a bench in the park-area of the Blackwell Academy, it was late afternoon. She could see Nathan Prescott hanging out with his buddies a bit further away and Victoria's cronies walking over to where the boys were standing. But what surprised her the most in that moment, was the fact that the girl sitting next to her, who had caringly placed a hand on her shoulder and sounded seriously concerned, was none other than Victoria Chase.

"What the fuck?" She mumbled as she stood up way too quickly as she understood, when some sort of nausea hit her and made her head spin.

"Maxy? What is wrong? You're scaring me…" The sincere worry in the blonde woman's voice brought her back from her tumbling thoughts.

"Yeah, Mad Max. You okay?" Another voice intoned, equally worried. "Maybe you shouldn't have had the whole peace pipe for yourself."

Max spun around, again – too fast for her own good and she nearly stumbled over her own feet. Before her was standing Rachel Amber with a worried and slightly guilty looking expression on her face. She looked nearly exactly like the woman Max had seen on the 'Missing Person' posters back in her 'original' past and on the pictures she had seen in Frank's RV and Chloe's house, but somehow Max knew she was different. She knew also a terrible lot about a terrible lot of things, who somehow suddenly started to click into places as the memories of this 'now' plopped up in her mind.

Victoria was actually a good and close friend of hers' now and other than still having the looks of a posh little princess, had a completely changed personality, or was it that her true personality was showing more? Shit. This was confusing. The blonde with the short hair had tried to play the Queen-bee of the school, but when Max had transferred about four month ago and simply didn't bow to her every whim and had shown everybody who gave her shit, what hell was; the girl had somehow become interested in the young rocker-gal with the long blood-red hair and the many tattoos and piercings. At first Victoria had just started to avoid crossing Max or anyone who started to associate with the rather unsociable girl. Later she had started to try and start conversations with the rocker-gal herself and get to know her better. And somehow she had learned of Max's caring side, of her good heart, which had been hidden under all the bitterness and had opened up to the young woman herself, showing her own frail, loving heart, that she hid under the mask of self-confidence and arrogance, which she actually didn't really feel. They had started to hang out and talk more often, as the blonde with the short hair was practically Max's roommate (well, not really, but her room was right next to Max's and thus she started to spend more time in the metal-gals' room than her own). Still, Victoria confined in Max and often sought her counsel, when she had trouble with her studies or the pressure the teachers put on her as she was just like Rachel one of the best students of the school and thus was thrust in nearly every competition or event that was taking place, or basically anything. She had had her cronies, but Max was her one first 'true' friend and now she basically clung to the short metal-gal like to a lifeline or a maybe she saw a safe-haven in her or something… Lately she even had started to ask Max advice about how to know if a person truly loved another one and such, even if Max had repeatedly told her that she was not the best to answer such questions due to her own experiences in that matter. However, it was kind of adorable as the rocker-girl had seen the posh looking girl try to strike up conversations with a rather shy, but cute girl named Kate Marsh…

And Rachel? Rachel was one of the few people in the school who didn't fear the rocker-girl that dressed in black and could easily break a guy's arm if he tried something funny. That's right… Max had still learned Muay Thai and had won the junior-championship three times and gotten into quite a few fights... And Rachel just had accepted her like she was. At first Max had thought her to be false and annoying, but as time went by Rachel had proven that she really felt something like kinship to the rocker-girl, even if she was the complete opposite of Max – a social butterfly with many friends. Still, after just barely four month of being friends Rachel had already declared Max to be the one and only friend she'd ever trust with her life. And she was actually jealous of Victoria hanging out with Max all the time, as they had nearly all the same classes and their rooms were close by, but she had only a few classes together with Max and her room was on the other end of the dorms. But then again – she could be happy to spend time with Max more often than not as the rocker preferred not to go to the parties Nathan Prescott was organising, even if the rather social and friendly young man had tried to help Max settle in her new school, and instead used the evenings of the weekends to play guitar in the garage of Rachel's parents, with Rachel being on the drums. They still needed a lead singer for the band and Nathan had actually been considered for the part as he had quite a good voice for grunge or rock or something in the style of S.O.A.D and was good at performing, taking into account that he basically singlehandedly had founded a theatre club in the academy… It was weird – Rachel – this ace in nearly every course was actually damaging her good image in school, just to be with Max… She even had chatted up that local dealer Frank to get some good stuff to impress Max, even if Max had repeatedly told the blonde with hazel eyes to stay away from dangerous people (with her as exception). To Max's astonishment she knew that, when she had found out about that time Rachel had done something as dangerous as meet that guy alone in a dark back-alley she had nearly yelled at her and had been sick with worry, before hugging it out with the other girl and nearly breaking Franks' arm the next time she saw him. Damn, she actually feared for the woman...

"Fucking shit! No, it's not the weed, Drums." Max replied more angrily than intended, but the other girl seemed to know that Max had some issues and just passed it as one. "Fuck… Gonna be out for a while, I gotta sort my head. Don't call me." She retracted her arm from the grip of the other girl, who had risen from the bench and was standing by her side, somewhat protectively clinging to her arm.

"Wha-?" Both young women looked puzzled and completely stunned by what was happening. ' _Shit, I don't even know what is happening…_ ' But one thought had set deep worry in her mind. ' _Chloe. I have to know what happened to Chloe!_ ' She practically flew to the bus station, just in time to catch the yellow bus before taking off towards the town. She nearly fell down on the roadside though, when she saw that Mr. Madsen was the bus-driver. This was getting weirder and weirder.

As the bus drove on towards the town Max remembered that William had lived in this 'now', she even had still a close friendship with Chloe and had written her nearly every day, when she had moved to Seattle and lived through all she had. Chloe had been her pen-pal and the one soul she'd call, when she wanted to hear a friendly voice. Not even her friendship with Rachel and Victoria had changed that. But in the whole stressful four month since she was now back in Arcadia Bay, she hadn't seen her friend, even if they had talked over the phone many times and she had wanted to see her.

One after another the memories of her own life started to bubble up in her mind, but for nothing in the world would she have forgotten where she needed to get off the bus to get as fast as she could to Chloe's house. Her heart was hammering in her chest as she had covered the ground between the bus stop and Chloe's house in a record time, but as she now took in the scenery before her and took deep breath as much as to satisfy the hunger for oxygen her lungs had after the mad sprint, as to try and calm her nerves, she couldn't help but feel her guts starting to twist in knots. The house was different from what she remembered. Too different... Why was there a ramp leading to the front door? Why was the garage closed off completely with a new wall, so that it could be used as just another room? Why were there no lights in Chloe's room? The more she thought about it, the more dread of what could have possibly happened got hold of her. It took her an immense amount of willpower to finally bring herself to ring the bell.

"Max Caulfield? Is that really you?" Chloe's dad asked obviously happy to see the young woman standing in front of him, not judging her for how she looked. "Chloe showed me the photos you sent her of your new style, but I would never have believed it until now. It actually suits you." His mood seemed to darken a bit, before he continued. "I guess you're taking a break after laying waste to Seattle? I know things haven't been all too rosy for you, but after you left for the big city, we weren't really sure if we'd ever actually see you again... especially after everything that happened to Ryan and Vanessa…" The sincerity and sorrow in his voice caused other memories to pop up in Max's head, but she suppressed them for now – there were more important things at the moment. "I hope you know that you'll always have a home here with us…"

"No, I'd never do that to Chloe." Max could barely hold her emotions in as her memories and her worries threatened to overwhelm her. This was all too strange, too wrong… "I would never leave her. And thanks…"

"Speaking of… I know she's been dying to see you. Hold on." The man turned towards the corridor of the house, with something akin to sad happiness and gratitude on his face. "Chloe! You have a visitor."

She should have known. She should have guessed. And she had guessed, but she had hoped against hope that she'd be wrong. That it all was maybe for Joyce or something, as mean that might be. But she was not…

She could nearly hear her own heart break when she saw the genuine smile of happiness on the face of her best friend since childhood in front of her again, as the girl with short strawberry blonde hair drove her wheelchair across the corridor to be able to greet her. She couldn't hold her tears back, nor spare Chloe's father the uncomfortable and the slightly embarrassing scene he had to witness, when the tough looking rocker-gal just fell on her knees before his daughter and placed her head on the blonde woman's lap sobbing uncontrollably, while repeating 'Oh, Chloe! Oh, my Chloe!' over and over in a small nearly inaudible voice. It was just all too much…

William excused himself after closing the door behind Max as she was still clinging to his daughter, who continued to try and cheer up her best friend as best as she could. Still, it took Chloe quite a long time to calm the rocker-girl down and nearly as long to coax a small smile out of the red-head as she repeatedly to ask the rocker-gal to take a stroll with her along the beach of Arcadia Bay in the most ridiculous voices she could come up with.

It did take them a short while to get there as Max was walking in silence alongside Chloe, whose wheelchair was automated and which she could manoeuvre it quite smoothly with just the few motions she was capable of.

"It's weird hanging out with you again." The blonde girl in the wheelchair finally gathered her courage and spoke up to the rocker with the silver nose-ring and the tunnels in her ears. She couldn't really move her head well when she was in her wheelchair, but she knew that the young woman next to her quietly cried as she could hear her trying to muffle the sound by placing a hand before her mouth and trying to sniffle as quietly as possible as to not disturb the paralyzed girl. "I know it-… it must have been hell for you back in Seattle. Losing both parents in that way and then going through all that…" She said, before adding in a small voice, hoping to hide the jealousy and the perverse relief she felt about this fact. "I'm just happy that Cas was looking out for you at that time, even if it didn't work out in the ends…" She felt ashamed to feel happy about her friends' misery, but she had never really liked the young woman with raven-black hair Max had hooked up with and the more Max had told her over the last three years on how it all had evolved and dissolved, the more she had started to hate the girl who broke Max's heart in the end… Still, she couldn't deny that she was grateful to that woman at the same time, as she had been there by Max's side, when her parents died in a terrible car accident. She had helped Max cope with it for three years and probably was one of the only reasons Max was still going to an academy and hadn't ended up as a drop-out and gone the 'dark path' all the way. Nevertheless, the years after her parents' death had been very unkind to Max. Yes, she had continued her Muay Thai training and had won the junior-championship three times and was actually one of the favourites for the upcoming championship in the age category 18-22, if she decided to compete, but otherwise – it had been hell for the young rocker-gal… And Chloe couldn't do anything for her in her pitiful state except dictating letters to her dad or mom or calling her best friend from time to time… Despite all hardships, the young rocker had never forgotten her best friend and had written her, called her and sent her updates, photos and shared all her best and worst moments with her as far as she allowed herself to and as far as she could burden the paralyzed girl, even if the young woman in the wheelchair had always repeated to her – ' _You will never be a burden to me, Max. You are my window to the world, my salvation from this confined space. You are my wings. You are my angel, Max._ ' She mused fondly over the letters she had received from her best friend over the years. "It was nice that you sent me actual letters. That's more than any of my other friends have done… And you even wrote on that cool parchment paper. Never thought you had a thing for that."

"Heh… yeah. I loved how it kinda felt like I was some lord from the renaissance writing love-letters to the _reine de mon coeur_ …" The girl next to Chloe wiped her eyes with a tattooed hand and smiled a little at the memory.

"Uhm… English, Max?" The girl in the wheelchair asked but she knew the meaning, as Max had referred like this to her in her letters ever since her parents had died and she had discovered that Chloe was now bound to a wheelchair. ' _Queen of my Heart…_ ' she blushed furiously unable to hide how happy this one little thing made her.

"You know very well what that means. I had to explain it to you at least a dozen times." The rocker-girl rolled her eyes, as the according memory floated up in her mind, but nonetheless added affectionately, in a small voice, raw with emotion. "Queen of my Heart." But her mood soured a bit as other memories bubbled up. "I should have visited you earlier. I should have been here. I should have-" She couldn't finish her sentence. Guilt and anger at her own doings and inability to change at least one thing for the better for the girl that had been her only real ray of hope all these years, which even her relationship with Cas couldn't change, formed a lump in her throat and she had to wrestle with herself as to not break down again.

"Max, you were here. If not in person, then in your thoughts. God, I know how cheesy that must sound, but I felt like your heart was always beating right next to mine, that you were here all along with me, with all those letters and the stuff you sent me." The blonde girl tried to cheer the other girl up a bit. "The worst thing you could do would be to treat me like a baby. I still want to talk shit with my best friend, you know?"

"Can we stop?" Chloe asked as she recognised the place they were at in that moment. "This is seriously the best view of the sunset. What do photographers call that?"

"The golden hour…" Max said, barely above a whisper, as she looked over to her friend. Her beautiful, life-loving friend, whom she had doomed to a life in a wheelchair…

"See? Without you here, I'd have no idea. Bet you could make some amazing shots…" The young woman in the wheelchair said. "Those beached whales look so sad…" She couldn't help but state what was on her mind. "I kinda know how they feel. At least I'm alive here with you…" Silence settled between them like an uncomfortable companion, whom you never can really lose on the streets. "You know, my dad still feels guilty for buying me that car… I saw everything go by in bullet time. How that prick in the SUV cut me off. How I landed in the ditch. How my back snapped… That was the last time I felt my body, but I'm still glad that I got to live at least 'till I could see you again… I could have vanished like that girl from Blackwell… What was her name, Brook Scott or something? Just read it in the news…"

"This is such a fucked up world we're in… It was so different when we were kids…" The rocker-gal looked slightly pale, but there was something supressed in her voice – like rage or something similar, which Chloe couldn't really explain to herself.

"After the eclipse and the snow, it's more like the end of the world." Chloe couldn't help herself but sigh in silent resignation.

"It might be… but I'd like to think we can still change things for the better." This time around Chloe was a little surprised by what seemed to be determination that swung heavy in Max's voice. The emotion in the rocker-girls' voice made it quiver a bit.

"I'd like to think that too, but I don't have much hope these days." The blonde girl responded feeling a pang of guilt as the other woman seemed to wrestle with her own demons to cheer her up. Hell… if life had given her at least control over her torso, it would have been enough, for then she could have at least taken Max's hand and give it a light affectionate squeeze, or even better – she could have hugged her friend, could comb her fingers through her hair and sooth her, when she had a breakdown earlier and was seemingly on the verge of another one now.

"I know things seem out of control, but… as long as we're together, I promise this to you – I will make the world, time, fate or Karma or whatever it is that has laid these path down before us, bow and I will make them beg for forgiveness." It was raw anger that spoke with the trembling voice of an eighteen year old girl.

"Wow… easy there, Max. I'm happy enough to feel like a total kid again, while hanging around with you." Chloe laughed a bit nervously, surprised at the outburst, but she couldn't deny it – the girl, who was standing next to her, with tears simmering in her eyes, had a look on her face, which made her heart bear faster. In this moment she knew - this young woman, dressed in a long black leather coat and with the long blood-red hair, would stop at nothing to make her happy. And this alone already made her happy beyond what she could express. "Max… thanks for coming out to see me. You're… You're doing awesome. It means a lot to me…" She didn't know what to say, when the other girl looked at her in a way that made her desperately want to jump out of the damned wheelchair and hug her, hold her close and not let go. So she was kinda grateful, when a slight breeze came up and gave her an excuse. "Um. My… my nose is getting cold. Maybe we should go back to my place."

The way back was again draped in silence, but this time it was not so uncomfortable anymore. Still, it took them a bit longer to get home as the way back was a bit steeper and Chloe's automated wheelchair had slight problems with that.

"That's a pretty high-tech lair…" Max said once they were back at the house and Chloe was lying on her bed in her new room (the garaged had been repurposed). Chloe was a bit embarrassed as the rocker-girl had insisted she would help with everything the blonde girl would need, even if it was picking her up from her chair and laying her down on her bed. She had known the actually shorter girl was strong, but she was still surprised, when the young rocker had lifted her up in her arms like the most precious thing in the world with such ease and an affectionate look on her face, that made her jaw drop a bit.

"Feels like a high-tech cell, but I'm lucky my parents bust their ass to take care of me." Chloe answered and couldn't hide the bitterness in her voice. "I know it's hard on them…"

"They are grateful you are here with them." The rocker-gal cast her gaze to the floor. "I am grateful that you are alive and here with me." She added in a small barely audible voice. It was hard to control her emotions.

"Right. Especially when they can't even take a walk alone." The sadness in Chloe's voice made Max nearly choke as her heart threatened to leap out of her throat and tie off her windpipe. "Sometimes I even act like a total teenage brat just to give them an excuse to yell at me. Pathetic, I know…"

"Chloe, you're a great daughter." Max had problems to bring herself to speak up. It was too much to bear, to see Chloe like this. "You are the most amazing person I know. You're kind and sensitive, even if you don't have to be… You don't even know how many times your soothing voice saved me from doing things I would regret or even worse…"

"Trust me; I still get my rage on. Especially, when a nurse has to watch, while I take a dump, so she can wipe my bum. Or when the doctors flip me around like I was a science doll…" The blonde girl replied. "You're nearly the only person, to whom I show my good side." She smiled weakly. "Thanks again for coming, Max. I need to get my drink on. Can you bring me some water?" Max tried to smile at her, but it looked forced when she nodded as she stood up from where she was sitting to get a glass of water and a straw. She probably hadn't wanted to show the other girl, but Chloe could see the guilt and self-loathing written on her face – the hatred the girl felt for herself. Chloe didn't know the reason, and even if she would guess, she'd never know the real reason, but it made her heart ache. ' _Why are you making this face, Max? Why are you beating yourself up so much?_ '

"Drink up, buttercup." The rocker-girl tried again to smile and this time she succeeded even if only a little, as Chloe could see that the smile never reached her eyes, as the girl reached to tug a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"Oh, man. No wonder my throat is dry. I don't think I have talked this much in a year." Chloe tried to cheer the girl up a bit. She wanted Max to smile. Genuinely. The young woman's appearance had changed so much, but that smile… that smile was still the same – warm, innocent… it felt like the cosy, faraway place one would want to hide in from the world…

"Chloe, I will make things right." The metal-gal turned to her when she had put the glass water on the small desk which was sat up next to Chloe's bed.

"How? Dude, you're not SuperMax. And I'm not trying to guilt trip you." She was again surprised by the sincerity in the other girl's voice, even if the voice itself was feeble. "That's what my parents are for… I know they love me. My mom and dad are so cute. They always pop in here and make sure everything is okay with me. But the accident has been so hard on them… Our insurance sucks and the medical bills are fucking insane. They keep the numbers away from me, but it doesn't take much research to find out I'm costing my parents almost a million dollars a year."

"Chloe, you are irreplaceable to _me_!" Max's reply was nearly instantaneous and had she not to take the other girls condition into consideration she would have crushed her in a tight hug. "…and to your parents. I mean- I mean, you're, you know, priceless. Pun intended." And there it was again, the small, but warm, genuine smile, even if it was there to cover up the intensity of the first thing she had said, which made Chloe smile as well.

"You are such a Brat Max." Chloe grinned at the girl standing next to her bed. "But that is exactly why I love you so much." She sighed as she looked outside of the window. It was dark already and the rocker-girl probably would have to leave soon. ' _Still, it's worth not to try, right?_ ' "It would be sweet to chill out together and watch a movie, like when you'd spend the night at my house…"

"Oh, hell yeah!" There was excitement in the red-haired girl's voice, and gratitude for being able to spend more time together with her best friend. "What do you wanna watch?"

"Uh, I think I'm in, like, a mellow "Blade Runner" mood. I always cry at the end." The blonde girl said in a slightly trembling voice. She was happy and at the same time she wanted to already cry for some reason. "Plus, you know I always wanted to have cool coloured bangs like Pris."

"I know. You'd look incredible with blue hair." The rocker-gal said and to Chloe's shock leaned in close to stroke her hair, but didn't retract her hand before letting it linger a bit and cupping her cheek. There was so much hurt and pain in the young woman's eyes, but also so much affection, so much… love. It was hard to describe and Chloe had to swallow hard and make a slight coughing noise to snap the girl in front of her back to reality. "Right. Sorry. Now let's get this show on the road. And you better not fall asleep on me, like you always do when we watch movies." The young rocker-gal made to get everything they would need for a movie-night.

"I remember, Max. Swear I won't fall asleep." Chloe replied in a quiet voice, more to herself than to the other girl. "Not when you're her. Not yet…"

It didn't take long, before the excited rock-gal had everything set up and prepared. And that evening, for the first time in a long while, Chloe felt truly happy… So happy and deep in thoughts about her and her best friend that she didn't even notice when she fell asleep half-way through the movie.

* * *

\- No light, no light, in your bright blue eyes…-

* * *

It was Chloe's coughing that woke Max in the next morning. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and looked at the blonde girl, who smiled weakly at her.

"I can't believe you fell asleep so fast. How dare you?" She teased, but she had actually enjoyed watching over the peacefully asleep Chloe for the rest of the night, completely forgetting about the movie, before the guilt overtook her and made her spend most of the night ponder about what she had done.

"I know you're beat down after a day with me." The blonde with the short hair smiled at her. "And Blade Runner is a pretty dreamy movie to watch at night. Uh, do you think Deckard is a replicant?"

"No… Not really. At least, I'd like to think he's human." The sleepy rocker replied, before adding, "I'm sorry I crashed so hard… Where you okay?"

"I have a mother and father when you're not falling asleep on me." Chloe teased, but knew the topic of having parents was a highly tricky one, but the rock-gal seemed to have eyes only for her this morning. Still, it seemed to have stung a little.

"You're such a bitch in the morning." Max pouted a bit, but smiled at Chloe, when the girl replied 'The company I keep'.

"Max… yesterday was such a blast." The paralyzed young woman smiled at her best friend. "I know things were different when we were just dorky kids, but being with you made me feel like when we were little pirates, jumping and running through the forests again. It meant a lot to me just to chill out with you and bullshit…" She gasped, when she felt the already familiar, but still barely bearable pain in her head. The other girl was wide awake in an instant and looked alarmed. "Ahh… Fuck… Um, I'm getting my regular head pains… Uh, can you pretty please go upstairs and get my – my morphine injector in the bathroom?" This seemed to disturb the girl sitting next to her even more. "It's – ahh. It's total Star Trek shit. You can't even see the needle. Seriously, I need it. My parents keep the swag upstairs because they think I can't get to it… but you can, Max. Like a pirate, right?" She felt guilty for using Max in this way…

"I'll be right back, Chloe." The rocker-gal bound out of the room as if the devil himself was on her heels. Despite everything, she still checked her phone, when the knocking noises indicated that she had received new messages. One was from Rachel, another from Victoria and one even was from Nathan. All of them stated that they were worried and asked Max to reply… She put the phone away. The only thought for which her brain could make room now was Chloe. It took her quite a while to locate where Chloe's parents stocked the morphine, but she found it. What made her nearly collapse with shock and agony over what she had caused though was that she also found out about the morphine starting to help Chloe less and less, as she stumbled upon a crumbled up letter from the doctors to her parents in Chloe's old room.

Dread settled in her stomach as she came back down from the second floor and to Chloe's new room. It was almost with great reluctance that she turned the handle and only the memory of Chloe's pained and pleading look made her move forward.

"Finally. Give me the blue pill…" Chloe said in a pained voice, when Max finally entered the room. "Go ahead and plug it right in. It's so easy. And painless." The need to lessen Chloe's pain and the lead-like, heavy uneasiness that had settled in her stomach wrestled for control in the rocker-girl.

"Um… okay, but get ready to yell for your folks if I screw up." Still, she did as Chloe asked her to. She couldn't bear to hear her beautiful voice so feeble and in pain.

"Oh, trust me. I will." Chloe replied as Max plugged the morphine into the apparatus connected to Chloe's arm. "Of course, my pain just keeps getting worse… but you caught me on a good day…" She continued as the morphine started to kick in. "Max, I'm so grateful that I'm even able to hang out with you. See, I'm getting mushy. I'm already high." The blonde girl tried not to focus on what she intended to ask from her best friend. "Um, stop me if I'm being too emo, but can you grab one of the photo albums over there?" She swayed her head in the direction of a small desk where several photo albums were stacked neatly. "I'd like to check out some old pictures of us when we were kids."

"Please, you don't even know what real emo is." Max hoped to conceal her own worry with slightly teasing the other girl. "Besides, I'd never pass up a photo op with you. Ever." The rocker-gal grabbed the photo album that was lying a bit separately, but showed pictures of them as kids, on the cover. Probably Joyce or William had put them together… When she returned to sit beside her best friend she placed the album on Chloe's lap so that the paralyzed girl could see everything and she tried her best not to give in to her gut-feeling as they went through the pages showing various moments form their lives.

And then there was that photo again. That damned photo, from that fucking day, that screwed up everything. That day when she screwed up everything. Max could feel the anger and self-loathing bubble up in herself…

"Listen, Max." The cracking voice of her best friend ripped the metal-gal out of her thoughts and turn to her friend only to see that the blonde young woman was crying silently. "My respiratory system is failing and it's only getting worse…" The knot in Max's stomach turned to ice and dread spread through her like a virus as her friend continued. "I've heard the doctors talking about it when they thought I was zonked out. So I know I'm just putting off the inevitable, while my parents suffer along… and I will, too. This isn't how I want things to end."

"No. No, Chloe, no, no, no…" Max's voice broke. She could feel hot tears running down her cheeks and blurring her vision. Her heart was hammering in her ears and she felt like she would suffocate any moment.

"Being with you again has been so special, I just want to feel like when we were kids running around Arcadia Bay and everything was possible. And you made me feel that way today." There were tears on Chloe's cheeks too now. "I want this time with you to be my last memory… Do you understand?"

"Chloe, please- please, no." Max begged, she could barely hear her own voice.

"All you have to do is crank up the IV to eleven." Her best friend continued. It was hard for her to ask this of Max, merciless even, but she had to… "I'll just drift asleep… dreaming of us here together forever…"

With a titanic effort of willpower Max wrung down her tears enough to focus on the photo in the album lying in Chloe's lap. She blended out Chloe's voice, still talking to her; she blended out everything and concentrated solely on the picture.

And it worked. White flashed before her eyes and she was there again with Chloe on the day her father died. And this time she tried a different approach. She changed the past again. And then again. And again. And again, and again, and again, and again. A hundred times over. And every time it just turned from bad to worse to terrible to out-right unbearable. And every time she went back to that past she tried to change something so that everything would work out – it didn't. When that didn't work she tried to change different things, make different choices, different sacrifices, but even that was not enough to change anything for good. In a despicable moment, for which she would continue to hate herself for the rest of her life she even made sacrifices and decisions so unbearable that she thought she might just kill herself then and there. At one time she sacrificed her father, her mother, her unborn brother from 'that timeline' and even Joyce, but it was all for nought. She always ended up in the same outcome – Chloe pleading with her to end her life. She had screamed, she had cursed, she had hurt, she had been beaten, she had been wronged, she had bled, she had been raped and tortured, she had been nearly completely paralyzed herself, and she had been in agony so unspeakable that even her mind refused to let this door to that memory break open no matter what. Over and over and over, again and again. And it still didn't change anything at all…

It took her several more agonising, utterly destroying tries and takes 'till she was back with this Chloe, lying there paralysed from her neck down, pleading with her, the rocker-girl with long blood-red hair, many piercings and tattoos and without any other soul in this goddamn world to care for or about her.

"All you have to do is crank up the IV to eleven." Chloe said, as if she would say these words to Max for the first and last time. "I'll just drift asleep… dreaming of us here together forever…" This last sentence shattered every remaining bit of control in the crying rocker-girl and she dissolved into uncontrollable sobs, muffling her cries and gasps for air by burying her head in Chloe's lap and doing her utmost to regain some sort of self-control.

It was unbearable and she still hadn't regained control of herself, when Max started to sing one of her most favourite songs to her most favourite person in the world in a feeble, shaky and barely audible voice, knowing full well, that this time she would have to agree with the blonde girls wish.

"You are the hole in my head; you are the space in my bed."

"You are the silence in between what I thought and what I said."

"You are the night time fear; you are the morning when it's clear."

"When it's over you're the start; you're my head, you're my heart."

As she sang the song her voice became times steadier, times it nearly broke off. At times she could bring herself to sing it in her beautiful melodious voice and at times she nearly dissolved back into uncontrollable sobs.

"No light, no light in your bright blue eyes."

"I never knew daylight could be so violent."

"A revelation in the light of day."

"You can't choose what stays and what fades away."

"And I'd do anything to make you stay."

"No light, no light, no light, tell me what you want me to say."

At times she would sing with volume and at times her voice would be barely more than a whisper, so faint that Chloe could hardly hear the girl and more 'read from her lips' than anything else, as she sang on.

"Would you leave me if I told you what I've done?"

"And would you leave me if I told you what I've become?"

"Because it's so easy to sing it to a crowd."

"But it's so hard, my love, to say it to you out loud…"

But at this point in the song Max regained control somewhat and sang this part with a sincerity that made Chloe shudder. There was so much hurt in the young woman's eyes, but at the same time there was such a pleading look, that she wanted to say she would never leave the rocker girl, but her resolve remained adamant. And somehow she knew from the look in Max's eyes that the girl before her, singing with all her soul, had accepted her fate of being separated from her… forever.

"Tell me what you want me to say…"

The song ended as Max's quiet voice faded away and the rocker-girl finally steadied herself somewhat. The silence following it was deafening and for a moment it seemed as if time had frozen for them.

The kiss that followed was everything but what Chloe had expected to happen, but she wouldn't have resisted even if she could have done so. It was hot, sweet, like noting she had tasted before, like the essence of life itself, even if it was only for this one fleeting moment. Like Max was trying to give her a part of her soul along on this journey without a way back. It tasted like unbound love and like jet-black sadness. It was so intoxicating it hurt. So sweet and yet so cruel…

"I love you, Chloe Price. I love you and I will never leave you. And wherever or whenever in whatever timeline or place in this universe we will end up again someday – my heart will find you. I love you." Max said with a shaky, husky voice as tears started to flow down her cheeks again, while she was still so close to Chloe. There was something in the young red-heads voice that made Chloe believe her. She nodded. It was time. This was goodbye.

The last thought Chloe had before eternal sleep took her was of the warmth of Max's lips and the love she had felt for the first time in her life.

* * *

\- _If you were so fine_ ; Küss mich –

* * *

With one last gigantic effort of willpower Max concentrated on that one certain photo for one last time. Again it flashed white. Again she was there – back in the 'past'. But this time she didn't change a thing with the exception of taking that one specific picture when no one was watching and throwing it into the flames of the already lit chimney. Everything else happened, like she remembered it happening in her 'original' past. A slightly worried Chloe asked if she was alright after she broke down and started crying, when William left for this final time… It flashed white again. And then she was back in her own 'original' present, but she was no longer in her room in the dorms, sitting on her bed and feeling utterly miserable. She felt beat and hurt, as the various memories from all the 'pasts' and 'presents' rearranged in her head to let the 'original' bubble back up. She remembered her falling out with Chloe and already made for her phone, when the realisation kicked in – she was not at the Academy in her room. Another 'memory' bubbled up.

She indeed _had_ been in her dorms and had stayed in her room until late in the evening somebody knocked on her door and a voice, a bit muffled by the closed door, but still unmistakable for anything in the world had called out to her.

"Max, are you there? Please, Max, I'm sorry and I want to apologize and talk and..." A certain blue-nette with a heavy guilt-trip on had sighed and rested her head against the door of a certain brown-read haired girl's room. "Please, come out?"

She had been still hurt, but had so desperately wanted to mend the rift between her and her best friend that she had agreed to go with Chloe, who had brought her here – to her home, to her room, which was now illuminated by the Christmas lights and at least two dozen small candles placed in various places (Chloe had made sure that David would be at the Academy for his night shift and Joyce for hers in the diner, before picking up Max). The blue-nette had seemingly in the typical Chloe manner hoped that the simplest plan was the best - a cosy, warm place, some awesome food, some good movies and some old games (she even had dusted up her own old PS3), would mellow the anger of the rocker-gal. And now Max realised – she was standing in front of the nervously fidgeting and guilt-ridden punk-girl in her room, who was anxiously and fearfully waiting for her to say something as she remembered she had remained silent for the whole ride to Chloe's house.

The punk-girl was absolutely stressed out. She had come up with this plan and it had sounded good in her head. She wanted to make amends for how she had pained the girl with the black nose-piercing standing in front of her. She had been so focused on making this plan work and so happy when Max had nodded her agreement to come to her house to talk it out, that now, when the girl was standing before her in utter silence, she started to fear again. Dread of failing to reconcile with her friend spread in her gut like poison. She tried not to wring her hands, or to fidget all too much, but it was nearly a waste of effort. She was terrified by the thought of Max just leaving, or not saying anything, or… The tears and the look that had appeared in the other girl's eyes caught her off guard. ' _Oh, shit! This is bad. This is bad! What do I-?_ ' She couldn't even finish the thought, when the smaller woman nearly lifted her off from the ground as she threw herself at Chloe. Hungry, hot lips locked onto hers and she could taste the slightly salty tears. It was a deep, seducing and addicting kiss, full of longing and desperation, as if the girl with brown-red hair tried to pour all her heart in it and express all the emotions she felt with it. And for a blissful moment Chloe let her mind go completely blank.

It was only when the other woman broke the kiss off reluctantly and only so far that they could both take a deep much needed breath, without letting go of the taller girl that Chloe fully registered what was happening. The rocker-girl had one hand in Chloe's blue locks and the other firmly, almost possessively, but still gently around the punk-girls' waist, holding them so close together that their noses almost touched.

"Chloe… My Chloe… You're alive!" Fresh tears ran down the shorter woman's cheeks as she leaned her head against the crook of Chloe's neck and hugged her tightly. "I'm just- I'm glad you-… Uh, just-… Argh! Fuck this!" The shorter girl lost her temper and let go of Chloe only to grab her unceremoniously under her arms and her knees lifting the shocked girl of the floor with a sweeping motion, which caused the punk-girl let out a yelp in surprise. In the blink of an eye the short, but obviously strong girl had crossed the room from where they had stood to the bed and simply laid the stunned woman on it, before straddling her lap, pinning her hands with her own and started to place yearning kisses along the blue-nette's jawline. ' _This is bordering with assault, you know?_ ' a voice in Max's head popped up. ' _Fuck off!_ ' she answered herself. ' _Do you even know if Chloe wants this? Do you even know if she returns your feelings? Feelings you have seriously developed in only the last – three, four days even if they might have been there on a different level all along? Maybe she still thinks of Rachel?_ ' the voice was persistent. Damn… the voice (her own) was right…

"Chloe… I'm so-" She began to say as she stopped kissing the girl, leaned back, released her hands and was about to climb down from her, when the punk-girl grabbed hold of one of her hands and pulled her in for a kiss practically bursting with longing and unmasked desire.

"Don't stop…" Chloe could barely believe what she herself was saying, but it was like a dam had burst inside of her and unbound, hidden feelings and desires flooded her mind, making it hard to focus on anything except the woman, who had kissed her so passionately just a few seconds ago. The voice in her head asking about her feelings for Rachel, making her feel guilty and making her doubt, grew steadily smaller as her whole world seemed to form around and become the rocker-gal with blue eyes and brown-red hair.

But if she thought the girl still straddling her lap would return to kiss her with the same ferociousness like before, she was wrong. It was with almost a heart-breaking tenderness that the rocker-girl lifted her hands and cupped Chloe's cheeks, before placing an oh-so soft and gentle, yet smouldering hot kiss on her lips. It felt like the almost agonisingly slow kiss was a declaration of love to the blue-haired girl, which the rocker-gal just couldn't say in words. A deep-rooted, incandescent, unbound and insurmountable love that was dedicated only to her...

Chloe felt was as if everything they did was in slow motion. Lazily, unhurriedly they undressed each other enjoying the closeness, the tenderness of their caresses, as the desire to explore each other to the fullest (layer by layer, so to say) filled them.

The punk-girl had seen Max undress already two times this week, and the first time had been enticing as the shorter girl had intended, but now, as Max unhurriedly took of her bra and dropped it where the jacket and shirt already were lying on the floor, she couldn't help but admire the girl before her as she slowly traced a finger down from the spot between her well-formed mounds to her navel and below. The rocker-gal's body was hot like lava under her touch and she was captivated by the half-lidded look the young woman gave her. The blue-haired girl reached up placing a hand on the other woman's back as she made to reverse their positions. At the same time her lips started to leave a trail of soft, mouthy kisses down from the nape of the rocker-gal's neck to her left breast. And she just couldn't continue after she had placed a tender kiss over the spot where Max's heart was without teasing her a bit, as by now desire had firmly closed its talons around Chloe's heart and mind.

The small, blissful gasp the young woman let out when Chloe's breath drew over her slightly hardened nipple, and the furious blush Chloe saw on her face, was more than she could take. ' _To hell with the slow pace!_ ' the voice in the punk-girls' head roared. While her hands started to unbutton Max's trousers and pull them off, when they were loose enough, along with her panties, she closed her lips around the lovely pink top of the young woman's breast, letting her tongue draw small circles around it. The younger woman squirmed and buckled under her, as the blue-nette slid one hand carefully, caressingly down Max's abdomen to rest on her folds. ' _Oh, shit! This is so-! She's already so-!_ ' She couldn't really finish any thought in that moment as her mind was nearly blank and only concentrated on the wonderfully formed woman lying beneath her. Two things brought more focus to her mind for a moment. One was that she could feel the other woman's nails dig in painfully in her back, as she slid two fingers through her entrance, while her thumb remained on the girls' sensitive spot and slowly circled it at the same pace as she curved her fingers. The other was the rather loud and throaty moan the small woman let escape, not even caring if anyone could hear her.

"Whoa! Didn't expect that from you." The punk-girl said as she straightened up a bit and unintentionally stopping what she was doing.

"Who said you could stop now?" Max's voice was husky as the woman propped herself up on one hand, so that she could see into the blue-nette's eyes. The lips slightly parted, inviting, enticing. Her eyelids heavy and only partially opened. "And who said you could keep 'em pants on? But if that is what you prefer..." Chloe could feel a small hand slide down to her already very moist centre and she had to bite her lip as to muffle her own gasp as a single finger dipped in her. As her eyes sought Max's she saw an unbelievably mischievous, impish grin spread on the shorter girl's face and an absolutely seducing glint in her eyes. The small hand was retracted and the finger, still wet, found its way to the rocker-gal's lips, which promptly closed around it. That alone was already a massive turn on, but the look the slightly younger woman graced her with nearly sent her over the edge then and there.

What followed Chloe remembered only as a hazy, blissful blur. She remembered the hungry kisses, their delighted moans, the movement of Max's fingers and tongue and she had to admit – that girl knew exactly how to drive a woman crazy with want and lust, and how to draw out an ecstasy she had never felt. It had been long utterly, devastatingly beautiful hours until they finally huddled up together still intertwined and not wanting to let the other go. Despite being helplessly exhausted by this unexpected, but definitely ecstatic, sensual and rather wet adventure, she couldn't help but bite her bottom lip as she felt Max's leg slightly grinding against her lower lips as the other woman slightly shifted her position. She still felt weak after the last orgasm and didn't think she'd be able to move for at least a couple more hours, as every touch of the other girl, and be it oh-so small and soft, on her sensitive areas sent light jolts of pleasure through her.

"Max, I'm done for today." She breathed heavily as she felt the other woman lightly move her leg in a motion that made it grind against Chloe's folds. "I can't even move…"

"Your body says something different." The rocker-girl purred as she rolled them both over so that she was on top of the taller girl and started to place a trail of kisses from her breasts to her naval and below. "Plus, you don't have to move." She added mischievously smiling against the blue-nette's skin, just a little above the wet, oh-so enticing place between the other woman's legs.

"My body doesn't know what it- Oh-God-Fuck-Yes!" Any protest was snuffed out when she felt the smaller woman's tongue dip inside of her and curl rhythmically. ' _Okay, fuck moving, thinking, everything. I'm good._ ' Was the last thought, before her mind went blank as Max, seemingly more 'durable' for such things, started with round two, making her heart beat faster and again overflow with one feeling alone for the rocker-girl - love.


	9. Chapter 9

**WARNING:**

 **All characters and the story upon which this fanfiction is based are property of Dontnod Entertainment and Square Enix. I don't own anything.** **  
**

 **As this is my first story to be published here, I will be happy about every reviews - both good and bad as only so I can know what I have to improve. :)**

 **Rated M for crude and strong language at times, violence and mature content.**

* * *

\- Roulette-

* * *

How could this be? She couldn't really deny the feelings she had developed for the young woman lying next to her, still cuddled close in her arms. Feelings she knew were growing every day and with increasing intensity. But at the same time – how could that be? Had she really abandoned her best friend, the one she loved for so many years now, in just under a week, because the woman in question had just lived her own life unaware of how Chloe had felt for her? Because Max had showed up and shown her support and given her strength? Because the rocker-girl had had an even worse life after leaving Arcadia Bay? Because she had hurt Max and wanted to make up to her? Or because they had shared their moments and had kissed a few times before? Because they had had sex just a couple of hours ago? Or was it that she felt so abandoned and betrayed all this time that she would have jumped on anything that'd give her hope?

Had she already replaced one friend with another? Had she already given up on her love for Rachel? Had really already discarded it, like Rachel left her? So easily? Could she be really sure? And despite what had just transpired between her and Max, could she really know it was love what she felt?

The guilt and the confusion Chloe felt over her own feelings for the young blonde woman she had called her best friend for years and the feelings for the rocker-gal had plagued her dreams and now continued even more intensely, when she was awake.

It was barely three in the morning. She more _felt_ the sleeping, still naked form of Max's body next to hers, than saw it. She could feel the young woman breathe in and out slowly, deeply as the heaving of her chest and belly indicated, reminding Chloe again that sometime during the night they had fallen asleep in a position, where her hand again rested on one of Max's breasts.

' _Damn, this is becoming a habit or what?_ ' The punk-girl thought in wry amusement, but couldn't bring herself to smile. Not even the thought of the blissful moments they had shared just a couple of hours ago could do that… especially not those memories… not now at least, for in the dead of night her thoughts had become an equally dark place of self-loathing, guilt, fear and confusion as the night itself.

' _Best thing to do in such cases – distract myself._ ' Grudgingly Chloe untangled herself from the sleeping rocker-girl and got out of her bed. She got dressed as quietly as possible in order not to wake the young woman with brown-red hair and sat on her table, hoping the desk-lamp would not disturb the sleeping girl. However, regardless of how much she tried to think of something different or work on something different, her thoughts would always make full circle and return to the two women she felt so strongly for – Max and Rachel. She booted up her laptop after having finally decided to get started on piecing together everything she and Max had dug up about the cases of Rachel and Kate.

But despite trying to concentrate on the issue at hand, namely Rachel's disappearance and the possibility of it being connected to the case of Kate getting drugged, the guilt she felt was still there. The confusion she felt was still there. The self-loathing was still there. And trying to figure out something about her missing ' _best friend_ ' was not helping her at all, as it was a constant reminder for her thoughts to why she had this inner conversation of doubt and guilt with increasing frequency and force in the first place.

' _So much for distraction, eh?_ ' The thoughts brought up by the guilt she felt for the umpteenth time made her stomach turn into knots, as they spiralled from bad to worse by the minute.

She nearly jumped a foot in the air, when suddenly something bolted at her and nearly tackled her from the stool to the ground. It was only after a short, fruitless struggle to pry herself free from whatever was holding her in an iron-pincer like grip that she noticed that it was actually a slightly shaking, still naked Max, who had partially wrapped herself in the blanket.

"Whoa, easy there Max!" Chloe exclaimed at the young woman, who had buried her face in her lap. The thoughts of guilt nearly immediately yielded the front-stage to those of worry for the rocker-girl, leaving Chloe a bit time to wonder even more, why it was like that.

"Chloe…" Max breathed out in a muffled voice. "Chloe you're here! Oh, my God! This is real... You're here. Oh, thank God!" It seemed that the physical contact somehow calmed the brown-red haired woman.

"Hey, are you alright? Max?" The punk-girl asked her best friend herself getting slightly agitated as the thoughts of the rocker-girls condition and her friends' ability to rewind time might be affecting her friends' mind manifested in Chloe's head. The fact that the woman currently pressing herself against her lower body in a half-crouch was actually completely naked didn't really help either, as suddenly she was very effectively reminded of what had happened a few hours ago and getting agitated over a completelly different matter.

"I'm- I'm just so glad that you're here! Please. Let me stay like this for a bit?" Chloe could actually hear that the rocker-gal's voice was a bit shaky as well and decided not to press the issue.

"Well… okay, for some reason that sounds kinda creepy, so I'm a bit concerned, but if this is helping then sure – help yourself. I get a free nearly four o'clock grope, so I'm not complaining." She replied slipping back to her usual ' _let's make light out of serious situations if the option exists to use it as an excuse not to deal with it_ '-demeanour. It was only after a few more minutes, before she realised she was stroking the younger woman's hair. ' _Shit! I really don't have any self-control, do I?_ ' But it really seemed to help calm down the rocker-girl from whatever had disturbed her in the first place. The whole day had been a mess (well, before 'things' happened), but she couldn't possibly fathom what it was that had caused this sudden outburst of emotion, so she decided to blame it on a nightmare. That was the easiest to find reason, even if deep down she somehow doubted it was that… or at least not entirely.

"So? Are you feeling a bit better now?" She asked after a while, noticing that the other woman's breath had become steady again and she didn't shake anymore.

"Yeah, but I doubt I'll be able to sleep tonight…" Max answered as she finally let go of the blue-haired woman and made to stand up, still feeling a bit overwhelmed by the nightmare she had had. Or was it the memories of the other time-lines? Of the other 'pasts' and 'presents' she had lived through? She shuddered a bit and added quietly, so that even Chloe might not have heard it, "Not without you by my side anyways…"

"In that case, maybe care to grab some coffee and join me in playing 'CSI: Arcadia Bay'?" The blue-nette offered, instantly regretting it, as the thoughts of guilt started to again worm their way through her mind. "Maybe we could piece together what we know about Rachel's and Kate's case." She didn't even know why she had to blurt this out and wanted to plant her face on her desk, when she saw the obvious glimmer of hurt and loneliness cross the eyes of the younger woman standing next to her. But the other woman seemingly got a hold of herself as the glint in her eyes turned to that of determination, which somehow surprised the punk-girl.

"Right. We need to find out what happened to both of them - Kate and Rachel." Chloe couldn't help but notice how the other woman put Kate first and only then added Rachel. The odd part was that deep down in her heart a small part of her was incredibly happy, as she could have sworn that for a few seconds Max's eyes flared alive with something akin to jealousy, although for some reason there was also genuine worry in them as she mentioned Rachel. "Still, I suppose I better get dressed. I mean, who knows - after what happened and with you seemingly being completely able to move again – maybe you'll attack me this time around." The punk-girl's thoughts were again sent for a wild ride as they were ripped from their brooding-spot and thrust to concentrate on the fact that indeed a rather ravishing young woman was standing next to her clad in just a blanket.

"Yeah, right! Dream on. I'll get the coffee." She huffed as she stood up and left her room for the kitchen, leaving the other woman to dress, still smiling about getting Chloe worked up like this with just a bit of teasing. She could feel that her face was probably as red as a beet right now. ' _And damn you for planting that thought in my head now, Max! You really love to mess with my brain, don't you?_ ' The thought had really remained stuck and it was rather tempting, she had to admit that, even if another part of her was still trying to whitewash it and blame it on her being affected by the whole situation and by what had happened a few hours ago…

By the time the sun had risen above the horizon and the clock in Chloe's laptop stated it was something after nine o'clock in the morning the two girls had gone through nearly everything they had dug up regarding both cases, the Prescotts, the Vortex Club and everything that could be mildly related to some of it. To Chloe's great surprise the rocker-gal had shown every bit of dedication to find any clues about both Rachel and Kate's cases and had poured in an unbelievable effort in sorting all the info on a cardboard they had taken from the garden to pin all the various clues on. Still, what surprised her even more was the fact, that, while she had dreaded that she herself wouldn't be able to really handle anything of this, due to her thoughts and feelings of guilt giving her a hard time, she hadn't had a single thought about it until she let her mind wander and somehow it was way easier to bring herself back on track with Max around, who would often speak or read aloud when she thought she might have found something important and would discuss it with the punk-girl.

"Damn. I feel like we're missing something important." The rocker-girl with the nose-piercing exclaimed sounding equally annoyed and frustrated at the same time. She had actually taped, pinned and drawn everything they had on the cardboard connecting every bit of information that was somehow related to each other with red, yellow and blue threads. "Fuck!" She sighed heavily before she continued. "Okay, listen, Chloe. We have to do three main things."

"Right! Um, what things?" Max's outburst had ripped the punk-girl from her brooding over the fact that she felt so at ease when she was with the rocker-gal, over the fact that she felt so secure and well… needed, wanted, loved in the other woman's presence. And over her own confusion, over the contradicting feelings, over her own inability to make herself face the facts and make a decision.

"For starters – decipher Frank's logbook." The other girl started to count on her fingers as she marched up and down the room in a slight mock-impression of a general. "Second, we've gotta get Nathan's phone to find out where he's been during the Vortex Club parties Rachel and Kate went to. And see if there is anything incriminating in the messages he should have on it, if he hasn't deleted them. If that doesn't work – we gotta find that prick and you leave the rest to me – I'mma make him squeal…" She said it so lightly, but Chloe had no doubt that given how she saw Max manhandle the pole in the junkyard – she'd probably rip the young Prescott a new one – with or without him saying anything they needed. "And three – I'm gonna talk to your step-douche. He knows shit and I want to know what exactly he has on Frank, Kate and 'the Dark Room'."

"Well, we could always beat him down a notch, as I do have a gun now…" The look on Max's face made her change her mind rather quickly. "…but I guess after you kinda calmed things down yesterday, we can try talking first. Maybe he'll even listen to what you have to say…" The punk-girl sighed. "Try to get some info out of him and see if you can dig up some dirt in the garage. I'm going to cyberstalk some names and see where that leads us… or to whom." The still seated girl said to the rocker-gal crackling her fingers as to indicate ' _I'm gonna be serious with this_ ' and already half-turning towards her laptop, when the younger woman strolled over to her and hugged her lightly, before she placed an affectionate, warm kiss on her forehead.

"You got this, Blue-Jay." Max's voice had lost its previous edge completely. It made Chloe's heart beat loudly in her chest and at the same time it and the kiss spread a warm cosiness in her, that made her want for her best friend to remain a bit longer like this, but before she could reply or actually order her thoughts enough to speak up the hug and the closeness was over. "Time to get to work, my dear Watson. I'll call when I have something, so you better be ready." The rocker chuckled a bit over the reference and winked at her over her shoulder as she walked out of the room and went down the stairs, suspecting that David would already be there, even if it was rather early in the morning.

' _Damn, if that was not motivating, then I don't know what is…_ ' the blue-nette thought. Still, it did take while until Chloe completely could concentrate on what she had supposed she should and would do, while her best friend would chat up her step-father and gather info in the garage.

Max was hardly surprised to see the former military man already working in the garage, but what surprised her was the rather kind demeanour in which he greeted her.

"Anything I can do for you, Max?" The security-officer turned from whatever he was working on to see the young woman in the eye.

"You seem awfully relaxed to see me, Mr. Madsen. Taking into account you weren't really thrilled to see me here again last time around." The rocker-girl said, crossing her arms before her. "And actually yes, there is something you could do. Remember when I said I wanted to talk to you about Rachel Amber?"

"Ah. I'm sorry about my initial rudeness yesterday, but in my defence – I haven't got much sleep in the last few days and with everything that is happening in Blackwell, this last incident caused even more stress for me." He sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose, but he sounded sincere. "Still, I owe you one for yesterday. That has been the first time in years since where there hasn't been a quarrel in this house. So – thank you for that. I know full well how quickly that situation could have escalated and I was not really helping it either… And you are Chloe's friend and she seems more happy than I have seen her in months… So – thank you for that too. I can't approve of you skipping morning classes, but as I said – I owe you one, so I'll let it slide this time. And, yes, I remember. I did promise you could talk to me whenever you needed to. However, Rachel Amber is a topic you should better keep away from. You and Chloe better be careful where you wander around. There are a lot of dark places in Arcadia Bay…" The ex-soldier looked somewhere in the distance over Max's head. There was genuine worry in his voice.

"What do you mean by that? What do you know?" This had peaked Max's attention. Maybe this would get her somewhere with what she wanted to know.

"I can't tell you everything that's going on at Blackwell. And you've seen too much already." The security guard crossed his arms now too. "Look, Joyce told me about your mother and I can guess you have a lot on your plate already, so please – for your own sake – stay out of this, Max." Something must have shown on the young girl's face as it prompted the man to let his arms fall to his sides and add apologetically, "I- I'm sorry, I probably shouldn't have mentioned that. I know how hard it can be to lose someone…"

"Too late for that." She said in a strained voice. The memories of her mother, of her failing to save her, all those terrible memories she had from those alternate 'pasts' and 'presents' and of course the 'original' bubbled up in her and she could feel how a supressed rage accompanied them. "And it's too late to ask not to get involved. I already know too much. For example about you working for Sean Prescott. Found the documents. Pan Estates. Surveillance and security. Ring a bell?" She knew she was becoming a bit snappy, but hell… the memories of her mother's death which she had experienced over and over again due to her trying to change her fate, was not something one can easily put aside.

"Goddamn. You're a good detective." The former army man sounded actually impressed, even if slightly surprised. "But I didn't get hired if that is your question. I gave Mr Prescott an estimate for my own reasons…" He crossed his arms gain, leaning back a bit defensively, clearly not wanting to expose to the young woman what those reasons were.

"To be honest – you can keep your reasons for that. All I want to know is what you know about what happened to Kate and possibly to Rachel Amber too." The anger in her voice seemed to slightly worry the older man, but he didn't back down from his position.

"I know you're concerned with what happened to your friend." The look David gave her was filled with honest concern. "But you did save her and that is all that counts. You saved her like a real hero. You even made it to the roof before me or anybody else. While I left the goddamn dorm roof wide open… I knew Kate was feeling desperate, but it seems me trying to help has caused even more damage…" The young rocker-girl could actually tell that he was beating himself up about not having been able to prevent what had happened to Kate and probably other Blackwell students she didn't know about. "Still, I know what's happening and this is really not a thing you or Chloe can handle. I promise you, I will get to the bottom of this, but I have to be a hardass and tell you and Chloe to stay the hell out of this. Things are gonna only get uglier and despite what Chloe thinks – I care for this family and for her." He sighed heavily and put his hands up in a placating gesture. "Look, Max, I'm currently working on a new surveillance system for the Academy – to prevent things like this from happening. To prevent more students ending up like Kate Marsh or Rachel Amber. Although you are like a one-man surveillance system yourself, it seems… But I cannot in good conscience tell you something that could possibly endanger you or Chloe…" David started to turn towards the workbench.

"A friend of mine tried to kill herself and might as well have been abused for all we know, and you expect me to do nothing?" The young woman demanded harshly, seething with anger.

"Listen, this is not your fight, Max! And definitely not a fight you can win on your own! I know you can take care of yourself, and I know this is frustrating but I'm not going to let you and Chloe just run around and put yourselves in danger." The man turned to face the young rocker, again crossing his arms over his chest, his voice stern.

"This is exactly my fight!" The rocker with the tongue-piercing shot back. "Kate is my friend and I might not know Rachel, but God knows she means a lot to Chloe and I will find out where she is or what has happened to her! _Because Chloe means a lot to me!_ " She pocked the man in the chest repeatedly as she emphasized every single word of the last sentence.

"No. And I will hear no more of this. Now, if there is anything else you would like to talk about, I'll be more than happy to listen and give you advice, but otherwise – I'd like to get back to my camera." The security guard said as he turned towards the workbench indicating that the conversation was over if Max didn't have anything to say anymore.

This was indeed frustrating. So much actually that she was ready to punch something, preferably the man standing before her, but a rational part of her mind suggested another way to handle the situation.

But this new approach should prove as futile as the original. After several rewinds and different approaches the success was rather limited and she hadn't got any really useful information out of the veteran. The man was adamant on not telling her anything, but from all the takes on the conversation Max noticed one rather peculiar thing – whenever he would say, he couldn't say exactly what he knew, his eyes would always wander over to the locker in the garage for a few seconds.

' _That's a serious padlock you got there, Rambo. Les'see whatcha hidin'_!' The girl with brown-red hair thought eyeing the locker, as she remembered the rather unorderly stacked envelopes of photos of Kate and other students that she had found during her first visit to the garage. Her anger subsided somewhat as she thought of what she would probably find in the locker and how to open the lock.

She took a few more tries, moving ever so slightly in the direction of the locker, just to make sure that her suspicion was right. Every time she could see the obviously growing worry on the man's face depending on how she handled the situation or where she turned the conversation to as she moved closer to the locker. She rewound again and went for the 'options chosen' as in the 'first' conversation she had with the security guard, as after the brief but heated exchange of words he had solely concentrated on the camera he was working on.

' _Time to bust a lock, Max the Destroyer._ ' She struggled to keep a sly, evil grin from appearing on her face. ' _The easiest and fastest way to get the lock open would be the keys, which are probably with David, so no luck there… but this thing seems to have a code on it too, so let's give that a shot. And if that doesn't work… Well, let's see if there is anything I can use to crack it open._ ' She took her time looking around in the garage for a way to get the code for the padlock, but didn't really find anything. It seemed the ex-soldier had been quite careful to sort his stuff this time around. ' _Well, not completely careful._ ' She mused as she looked over a few print-outs from what seemed to be emails from the local police station. Apparently someone had noticed Chloe's truck in the parking lot of the Academy during the night they had broken into the principal's office and reported it. ' _And here you thought that guy is a complete douche, huh?_ ' The rocker-gal smiled wanly as the second printout she found revealed that Chloe's step-father had got word of it and sent a message to the local police department with a rather cover-up story. ' _Point for you, Mr Madsen… Maybe I'll consider taking you off the list earlier than intended if you keep this up._ ' Still – no combination for the four cipher lock. Maybe she could use some tools to break it, but that would be too loud and who knows if she could rewind back before the security guard got to her after that…

She was getting worked up again and was ready to punch the damn locker, when her eyes fell on a small object lying on the workbench.

"You gotta be shitting me!" Max muttered under her breath as she looked at the keyring conveniently lying on the workbench, a bit out of reach of the older man. He would still probably notice her if she simply took them, but with a small distraction… A quick scoop around the garage gave her an idea. ' _No beat-down for the security today._ '

' _Blue will probably be pissed, but hey – no pain, no gain._ ' With the preparations done, she hit the switch and took out a fuse of the fuse box. ' _Out go the lights._ ' Immediately she could hear angry shouts from the second floor, where a certain blue-nette was getting frustrated over the power-outage and was blaming it on her step-father, who, while Max had already gone around the first floor to the door leading to the garage from the living room, was looking for the issue of the blackout.

The rocker-girl quickly snagged the keys from the workbench, just as the lights went back on indicating that the security officer had found the missing fuse, and made a full circle as she went back into the garage through the door from the hallway. Luckily the veteran seemed too preoccupied with continuing to work on his surveillance camera and as the radio in the garage blared into life he didn't hear her unlock the padlock.

' _Bingo!_ ' The girl with black-brown hair pumped a fist in the air as she went quickly through the notebook, some of the papers and envelopes stacked in a pile in the locker. ' _Maps, notes, coordinates, photos… Fucking jackpot, baby!_ ' She quickly pocketed what she could (which was practically everything as she just took the whole lot under one arm) and walked out the way she came, before closing the padlock again and placing the keys on the locker.

"Yo, Chloe! Gotta bail! I have to get back to my dorms before midday-classes. You remember you said you'd give me a lift?" The rocker-gal shouted, when she stood in the hallway of the first floor.

"Oh, shit! Right!" She could hear the rumbling and a muffled stream of curses coming from the upper floor, as the punk-girl hurried to get ready. It didn't take long, but still, Max couldn't supress a small smile from appearing on her face. She liked this a bit lazy, but at the same time super-focused side of Chloe. It was one of the things that made her the adorable young woman she was. The smile widened as the blue-haired girl practically stumbled down the stairs, her boots still untied and the beany sloppily put on her head. She held her jacket in one hand.

"Now let's get out of here, before he finds out his precious is missing." The rocker-girl urged her friend towards the door and before the security guard even noticed, they already were out of the house and in Chloe's truck and on their way towards the Academy.

"We hit the score bigtime." The rocker with the nose-piercing said, when they had pulled out of the driveway in front of the house. "Secret file stash of the year – Kate, Nathan, Rachel. It's all there. Plus some location coordinates. Have to admit – David might be a surveillance fetish, but he sure as hell knows how to gather data."

"That doesn't make step-douche more likable." The blue-nette replied with a frown, concentrating on the road, but clearly excited, if a little bit unnerved, by what her best friend had found in her step-father's garage.

"True, but this makes it one of the three things we need to do today." Max shrugged, but had to admit that knowing what she knew about the security officer now – he didn't seem all too bad. He could be a shit-bag, there was no denying it, but he seemed to mean it well, even if the methods he used weren't as efficient or reasonable as one might want.

"So next up is Nathan, right? We have to find out what he's hiding." Chloe intoned, getting back on track of their to-do list.

"Yeah, that's right. Oh, I'm so gonna enjoy busting his ass. Dipshit's better looking out not to cross my path." The rocker-gal smiled evilly and the sight made Chloe rethink if they shouldn't do something else instead of going to the dorms. Regardless of how much she hated the young Prescott – Max appeared to be in a mood where everything could happen and she was not so sure she would be either willing or even capable of holding her friend back if it came to a confrontation.

"Be as it may… before we break into that assholes room, I'd really like to see Kate... Chloe, I have to know how she's doing." The shift in the other girl's mood was so instantaneous that it took the punk-girl by surprise. She had seen that Max got mood swings, but this was a bit more than that. There was a deep set worry in her voice and Chloe couldn't help but think that there was more behind it – it was like she needed to confirm that the strongly religious girl was really there and alright. She remembered what the rocker-gal had told her about her own past clearly. "It's not like I intended to attend midday classes today anyways…" The girl with brown-red hair smiled weakly, clearly an effort not to make this already uncomfortable situation more so, but Chloe could tell - this must be something that weighed heavy on her best friends' mind.

"Sure, no problem, Max." The punk-girl replied solemnly as she changed their course towards the hospital.

* * *

-Blue-

* * *

It didn't take them long to get to the hospital. Since the death of her father Chloe had hated hospitals, but compared to what she felt, the rocker-girl next to her must have had some very bad memories about hospitals as she had turned as white as a sheet of paper.

"Hey, you ok, Max?" The blue-haired woman asked, somehow getting the vibe from her best friend that she at the same time wanted and desperately didn't want to be at the hospital.

"Yeah… yeah, it's fine… hospitals just kinda really freak me out." The answer worried the punk-girl even more as the distant look in the other woman's eyes didn't change a bit.

"I hear you… I feel the same." She patted the rocker-girl's shoulder and indicated to get out of the car. "Come on, Max. Let's go. Kate will be stoked to see you. And the sooner you see her, the sooner we get away from the hospital."

"I hope you're right…" The rocker-gal replied weakly as she got out of the truck and made for the hospital. They found Kate's floor and room easily, but despite how bad or anxious she felt about being at hospitals, Chloe couldn't help but notice how her friend's movements seemed to cost the younger woman extreme amounts of willpower, becoming even more stiff and reluctant the further they went.

"It'll be fine, Red Max." The young punk-girl had to swallow the anxiety she felt in order to encourage the other woman to enter the room before her. "Just go in there and be her friend. I'll wait out here, so you can chill by yourselves. And… I'm sorry. I was a total dick for blowing a fuse when you answered that call from Kate back there the other day… It's a good thing you shut me up there and ignored me… I had no idea what shit she was going through. And you saved her… like me..." She had wanted to encourage the other girl, but it seemed like going down memory lane had not been the wisest choice and now she had soured the mood even more. The young rocker-gal just looked at her, before giving her a nod and a small, but warm smile that made the blue-nette's heart tighten in her chest. ' _How can you not lo-… like someone as kind-hearted as her?_ ' She smiled back weakly glancing sideways at her best friend, who already was pushing down the handle and entering the hospital room, leaving her alone with her thoughts. ' _Let her know we're going to string Nathan up by his balls for what he did, sista._ ' She cheered her friend on in her mind as the door closed behind Max.

"Hey, Bible-girl." The rocker-gal with the nose-piercing said to the young woman sitting in her hospital-garments on the side of her bed drawing something in a sketchbook. Max's voice seemed to startle her a bit as she sat up straight instantly and looked to from where the voice had come.

"Max!" Her eyes lighted up immediately, when she saw the woman with brown-red hair and the rocker-attire. She practically rushed over to where the other woman was standing and embraced the rocker-girl in a tight hug. "I thought I'd never see you again. I feel so ridiculous… I'm so sorry…" The young religious woman couldn't help herself as tears welled up in her eyes as the tough looking rocker-gal returned the hug and stroked her back reassuringly.

"You have exactly jack-shit to be sorry about, you hear me?" The rocker with the tongue-piercing said. The fear and obvious anxiousness Kate had seen in her eyes only a moment before were quickly replaced by her usual confidence and anger. "Other people do… And I swear to God or the gods or the-fuck-ever I'll make them pay!" While driving to the hospital, Max had had flashbacks of various memories of the other 'pasts' and 'presents' again – of what she had done, of what she hadn't done, of how it had interfered with Kate's fate as well… of how she had failed her religious friend during her various attempts to save her best friend from a fate worse than she could bear to live through… Now seeing Kate again had brought it all up again – the self-loathing and the unbound fury over what had happened to the sweet and kind young woman and not only in this 'present'. She sighed heavily before she continued, hoping not to show her anger in her voice as to not upset her hospitalised friend. "Is it a stupid question if I ask how you're doing?"

"Now that you're here, I'm doing even better." The other woman replied as she finally released Max from the hug. "I'm so grateful to you for coming up to the roof to talk me down…" She smiled weakly at the rocker-girl but the slight quivering of her voice proved how much strain this actually put on the girl. "Max, I felt so lost and alone, but when I saw how much you cared, how hard you were trying, you made me realize I wasn't alone. Thank you." She hugged the rocker-girl again for a brief moment, before letting her go again.

"Yeah… I know exactly how that feels to be alone, lost, scared, scarred and broken…" Her voice was faint as she replied looking the young woman in the eyes, memories bubbling up in her mind. "There are so many people who love you and want to help you, Kate, that I actually am a bit jealous. And I just know that life will smile at you with the same bright, warm smile that you have." She allowed herself to grin a bit. "But I don't make hollow threats and neither do I make false promises. I told you – I am here for you, and so I am and will be. And I told you – I will bury those who did this to you, and I _will_ do so." This last statement prompted the young woman in front of her to look at her in slight worry, before she too started to smile again.

"I know. But I also think violence is not the right answer." The blonde girl replied. "And I know, that I'm not alone now. You should see all the letters and postcards I received… I gave most of the flowers to the other patients here because they need them more than me, but I'm keeping the balloons, though." She gestured over to her bed where a few balloons were tied at one side of it. "And believe it or not, Taylor came the other day to see me and brought even some pens and crayons, as well as a sketchbook so I could do some drawings. She- She apologised for everything and I felt that she meant it genuinely… She has her own problems, even if it doesn't justify her actions, I can see that she meant it when she said she wanted to make up for all she had done… but although I don't know what to think of it right now, I believe in forgiveness and redemption and with time I'll be able to forgive her completely. She even took care of my bunny and my plants for me… She also said she liked my illustrations, though they got kind of dark there for a while, but it gave me an idea for a new children's book about bullying." She continued as she walked over to the small table and picked up the sketchbook to continue her latest drawing. "I was thinking of having some photographs in there too… maybe, if you'd be interested or if you have time for that… maybe-… would you like to take those photos?" It took the blonde woman quite a bit of courage to ask her friend.

"I'm really not the best you could get, Bible-Kate, but I have your back and if it means I'll have to start paying attention in class so I can make some awesome photos to go along with your drawings – hell – I'll do it." Max winked at the young girl who had set down in the chair next to the table and had started drawing again.

"I'm going to be here for another day until my family comes out to visit." The tone of the blonde girl changed a bit to a more solemn one, as she broke the news to her friend.

"Are they treating you alright?" The concern in the rocker-gal's voice and the look she gave the young woman, were enough to prompt an immediate answer.

"They treat me like they need to protect me forever, and I mean in a good way." The religious girl explained. "They're so upset and I know they feel guilty, even though they didn't do anything…" Max's look, now that one of anger, made her quickly continue and change the topic a bit. "I was surprised how many students from Blackwell wrote me, and I don't mean just Taylor, who sent at least half a dozen cards alone even after she had come to visit… Daniel, Mr. Jefferson… Even Victoria wrote me a very sweet note… and I believe she was being real."

' _Yeah, right, like that two-faced cunt can be real!_ ' Memories of different 'versions' of the blonde with short hair popped up in Max's head. ' _I know that she can, but that was not 'this Victoria'… so, I'll be damned if I believe that shit… Queen-bitch is still on my hit-list and no 'past' or 'present' is gonna change that._ ' She actually had also quite some nasty 'new' memories of the rather snobby young woman from the Blackwell Academy.

"Myeahm… At least one of us is a believer." Max teased a bit as she noticed how gloomy the mood had got. "Still, we should hang out more and finally drink some 'tea'."

"Yeah, but _real_ tea, Max." Kate smiled at her, knowing exactly what the rocker-girl had offered before this whole incident on the roof. "Maybe we could even make a tea-tour through Portland or something. And you could take Warren along too…" This seemed to surprise the rocker-girl, not something the young blonde had expected.

"Warren? What does he have to do with this?" The rocker-gal raised a brow and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Uhm… You know he likes you…" The young woman offered, but as realisation washed over the girl with brown-red hair, all she could do was take a deep steadying breath before saying what had to be said.

"Look, Kate. I'm glad you're looking out for my love life, but it's not the way I swing, if you get my drift." She looked the blonde woman straight in the eyes and her look was unapologetic, honest and filled with confidence, which only comes when one knows exactly what one feels. And though it might have seemed just like a bit under a week, she, who had seen and gone through so much in these last days, in these last years of this and other timelines, knew exactly how she felt. Even if she couldn't be sure that the other felt the same. "I already have someone I like. A girl. Chloe Price, if you remember her. She was a student at Blackwell too for some time… Now I know this is a lot to drop on you and I'm not going to apologize for what I feel, but I also don't want to hide such things. Not from the few people I actually trust in this world and whom I can call friends…" The silence that followed stretched on for a few more moments, but the woman with the sketchbook quickly regained her composure and this time it was Max's turn to be surprised as a warm and caring smile appeared on the religious girl's face.

"Oh, Max, I had no idea. That is – I'm really happy for you!" Kate practically beamed at her friend.

"You- you don't condemn it? We're still friends right?" The rocker-girl was a bit shocked and dumbfound. She knew Kate was rather tolerant despite her upbringing, but this was something she hadn't expected.

"Of course we are friends! And why should I condemn it? Just because my parents might not understand it doesn't mean that I cannot understand it." The blonde girl replied. "Why should the love between two men or women different form the one between a woman and a man if the feeling is there, is real and the same? ' _John 4:7 – Let us love one another, for love comes from God._ ' So if you truly love her, then there is nothing wrong with it, and you can always count on my support, Max."

"Wow… I didn't expect that- I mean – thank you… for understanding and not judging… It's just that this is not a really popular or open opinion in many parts of the US or the world actually..." The rocker-gal stated a bit taken aback, but Kate just continued smiling at her with warmth in her eyes that Max hadn't seen for quite some time now.

"Anyways… have you told her already?" Kate just couldn't resist asking.

"Well… Yes and no… It's kinda hard to explain…" She had said it to Chloe, over and over again, but those were other 'pasts' and 'presents'. "You could say I didn't say it in words actually." She smiled a bit sheepishly at the surprisingly open-minded religious woman before her, feeling that her cheeks grew a hot as she remembered just what had happened the night before, but spared the still recovering girl any details. "I just don't want to push her too much. She too has a lot on her plate right now, so, I guess, I'm just waiting for the right moment or such…"

"And it will come, Max. I just know it will. But until then - ' _Ephesians 4:2 – Be humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love._ '" The young woman in front of her quoted again, before adding with another bright smile. "I'll be rooting for you."

"Heh… Thanks, Kate." The rocker-girl smiled at her friend and ducked in to give the other girl a quick but warm hug. "It really means a lot to me."

"Even angels need angels sometimes, right?" The religious woman returned the hug.

"Yeah, I guess so." Max let go of the young blonde before looking over to the door behind which she knew a certain blue-nette was waiting for her. The affectionate smile on her face only diminished, when the thought of what they still had to do, bubbled up in her mind again.

"I wanted you to know that I'm this close to getting all the info we need on Nathan." She said unconsciously balling her fists. "That fucker's gonna pay for what he did." Menace and anger were back in Max's voice. "I did get his ass suspended already, though."

"You did? Oh, right on, Max!" Kate smiled a bit though being reminded of what had put her in her current state was putting a lot of strain on the girl. "I love how fearless you are."

"Fearless – naah, but hella angry and that dipshit is about to become a human punching-bag if I run into him." The rocker-gal grinned evilly.

"So what is going on with him now?" The blonde woman inquired.

"If I was in charge he'd be talking to the worms, but not gonna lie to you - I assume he'll show up at the Vortex Club party tonight like nothing happened." Thinking about the whole incident alone was enough to make the rocker-girl's blood boil. "That fuckturd has it coming. Just have to find his room number, get inside, get the clues I need and then he'll be taking a nice hike to a cosy place six feet under… or to the police station, if he's makes it so far." She added rolling her eyes at the look the young blonde gave her, indicating that she'd consider not right-out murdering the young man when she saw him, even if she was only half-joking.

"Max, please let me help! I can get the number and I'll text it to you." The young woman offered, even as the slightly concerned and stern look in her eyes remained for a bit longer, while she watched her friend clenching and unclenching her fists. "But we have to do it the right way, okay?"

"Fine, fine!" The woman with brown-red hair threw her arms in the air as if frustrated, but grinned at the other woman, who still held her ground on this matter. "If you really want to go all 'Batman's one rule' on this, then I guess I can play along with it… for a while."

"Please, Max. Be careful, okay?" The woman put the sketchbook away to give her friend a goodbye-hug before sitting back down and taking up her drawing again.

"Right. I'll be waiting for your message then, Bible-girl." The rocker replied gracing her friend with a small, warm smile, before exiting the room and closing the door behind her.

"How is she?" The blue-haired punk-girl asked when she saw her friend come out into the hallway.

"She's still Bible-Kate." Max smiled at her. "I was really glad we came to see her." She walked over to where Chloe was standing with her arms crossed before her chest, leaning against the wall of the hallway, and placed her head against the slightly older girls' shoulder. "Thanks for being here for me. I really hate hospitals…" She murmured, before straightening up again. "Okay, now, let's get the hell out of here. We still gotta pay a visit to dipshit a.k.a. Nathan Prescott."

"Right. That little prick is not going to be glad when he sees us…" Chloe said as she started to walk alongside her best friend.

"Oh, I'll make sure of that." The girl with brown-red hair said lazily placing a hand around the punk-girl's hips slightly dragging her closer. And although there were still those conflicting thoughts in her head about what to feel, what to think and how to react, Chloe wouldn't have traded this moment and show of open affection from the shorter woman for anything. This small gesture had immediately wiped away all the anxiety she had felt while waiting in the hallway of the hospital. All the bad memories – replaced by the feeling of warmth, spreading from the palm of the rocker-girl's hand on her hip and making her mind focus on the woman next to her, and not on the reasons why she couldn't stand hospitals. She dropped her arm around the shorter girl's shoulders, giving her a reassuring squeeze. It came to her so naturally that her mind registered it only when she had to let go of her best friend so that they could get into her truck and get on their way to the Academy. As she started the accelerator and made to drive off, she snuck a glance at her friend with the nose-piercing and a thought struck her, which she knew was the truth about what she felt, even if she didn't dare to formulate it any further right now. ' _I just… don't want to let go of her… Not ever again…_ '

* * *

-Wollt Ihr das Bett in Flammen sehen-

* * *

It did not take long for them to reach the Academy, which was more due to Chloe driving a bit over the speed limit than anything else. Still, it was not even eleven o'clock when they arrived there and already quite many students were up and about their daily business. Nobody really bothered them as they covered the campus grounds and headed for the dorms, though judging by the looks the few passer-byes gave them (or Max to be precise), they either were scared of the short rocker-girl or didn't want to have to do anything with her. Only a few people greeted Max, and even those did so mostly by either nodding or raising a hand in a silent greeting.

"Damn, Mad Max… you're just strolling through the campus and everybody acts like you're a mob-boss or something." Chloe couldn't contain it for much longer and blabbed out what was on her mind as another student (this time a guy from the football team) made a wide range around them.

"Hmm… Yeah, I don't mind it though. Actually feels nice, you know? Nobody bothers me really and I can just chill with those, who are actually close to me." She gave the punk-girl a lopsided grin, but her mood soured, when she saw the photography teacher approaching them from the opposite direction. "Ugh… What does Creep-for-Pros want now?" She didn't bother to lower the volume at which she was speaking for a – the teacher was still quite a bit away from them, and b – she couldn't care less if he heard it or not.

"Hey, Max! How are you doing?" The teacher inquired in a rather friendly demeanour as he halted just in front of them, just behind the gate to the territory of the dorms.

"What do you want, Mr. Jefferson?" The rather brusque and short reply was all the indication Chloe needed to discern that the anger her friend was carrying inside her was already starting to bubble up in the shorter woman. It really seemed that Max couldn't stand the man even if he seemed kind of cool for an art teacher. A bit of a retro hipster, but cool in a way.

"Max, please. I'm not here to lecture you or anything. I'm just inquiring about the well-being of one of my students." The man sighed and put up his hands in a calming gesture, but seemed to be a bit taken aback by the hostility in the young rocker-girl's voice. "I know you have a lot on your plate, so I was just wondering how you are feeling today."

"Yeah, I'm fine." The rocker-girl with the nose-piercing replied, crossing her arms over her chest. "Fucking strange that the teachers and other students seem to be doing just fine even after what happened and what shit they pulled, though."

"I know, but lame as it sounds – life has to go on." The teacher seemed to be happy with just this much of a response from his student and now turned his attention to the blue-haired girl standing next to Max. "And who might you be?"

"That is Chloe, my friend." Coming from Max's mouth the words sounded like a threat, like in 'dare to look at her and you're dead'. The punk-girl could actually imagine the shorter woman saying just the exact same words.

"Yo." She said quickly as a means of introduction, when she noticed that it was her turn to say something.

"Chloe, why isn't somebody as cool as you going to Blackwell?" The photography teacher seemed to try lifting the heavy mood.

"I was way too cool for this school. It's a long story. In actual files here." The punk-girl with blue hair replied, amused by the daggers she saw her friend glaring at the teacher in front of them. ' _Oh, man! If looks could kill, that guy would be already ripped to shreds._ ' She had to supress a chuckle and a smile that was trying to spread on her face.

"I can imagine." The teacher said, before again refocusing his attention to the rocker-girl. "On that note – Blackwell duty calls. Remember, I'm going to announce the winner of the 'Everyday Heroes' contest tonight at the party, so I hope you'll be there to celebrate. Even though I'm sorry you didn't enter a photo, I understand your reasons. You can't force an artist to work…"

"Yeah, right…" The young woman still didn't seem to relax even a bit in the teacher's presence. "Though I didn't intend to participate in the first place. Other priorities."

"I understand. It's sad, but at the same time, I'm proud of you for caring so much for a troubled friend." The teacher sounded sincere. "And I take hope in the fact that you have plenty of time to find your way… You really could become a top-class photographer if you'd just pay a bit more attention in class to raise your grades and get into the habit to put your work out there…"

"Will think about it." The woman with brown-red hair seemed to pay little mind to what the teacher said.

"Well, as I said. I hope you will attend the party and you could take your cool friend here along with you." The teacher said, before sighing and making his way towards wherever he was heading to, after the rocker-gals' expression remained as unchanged as stone. "Be seeing you."

"You really do hate his guts don't you? Even if he's kinda cool." Chloe teased her friend as they too continued their way to the dorms.

"Gross. And you could call it more of a gut-feeling." The rocker-girl offered her a smile at her own pun and punched her lightly on the shoulder. "But yeah, can't stand Jeffer-creep. Neither him, nor his stupid contest."

"Well, whatever you say, but I'd have to agree with him – you do have talent, when it comes to photography." The punk-girl meant what she said. She really liked the photos Max took. Especially the three she had been carrying with her these days. Especially the one Max had taken of them together, with the quote written on it. It made her somehow giddy just thinking about it.

"I do have a particular set of skills." Max said, grinning at her own reference. "Now let's see if the Prescott-bastard is on the campus, get what we need from his room and let's be on our way out of here."

When the young man in question was nowhere to be seen on the campus grounds before the dorms, they decided to just go for it and get to his room, though once they were inside the boys' dormitory Max insisted on Chloe staying on the lookout and giving her a signal if Nathan or anybody else should show up, arguing that so she could always rewind making it seem that they had never been there in the first place.

"I won't let you down, BatMax!" The punk-girl said as she stayed behind at the entrance of the dorms, while Max made her way to find Nathan's room. Luckily though she didn't have to search long as Kate indeed had found out the number and had just sent it to her. After quickly texting back to the hospitalised girl, she made her way to the room in question. She didn't bother to see if the door was open or not – she just busted it with a fire extinguisher that was standing on the ground in the corner of the hallway.

' _Voila, and nobody give a shit about either the noise or the fist sized hole in the door._ ' She thought a bit sarcastically. ' _Like someone would actually give shit about anything here… Can't say I do, though, too…_ '

Without further ado and without much care she started to search the room for anything that could give them any clues about what Nathan was up to. And although she did find out quite a bit about Nathan from searching his room, logging into his computer and going through some mags, ads and papers he had lying on the floor, the room was way too clean and a tad unsettling. It did take her some time 'till she noticed the marks on the floor before the couch. ' _Secret stash, here we come._ ' The rocker-gal thought as she moved the couch a bit, at first thinking that something might be tucked underneath it, but to her surprise a plastic bag containing a cell phone and what seemed to be a list of names was neatly taped to the back of the piece of furniture. ' _Well hello there, little phone! Are you up for an adventure? Cause you're coming with me if you want it or not_.' She smiled a little – so far the plan to get Nathan's phone and some clues had gone as smoothly as possible, still – it couldn't hurt to take another look around the room. She did a quick sweep of the room and the shelves for any additional things, notes or anything really, that could give them more clues, but she didn't find anything of use. Happy with what she got already the rocker-girl made for the door and it was only by an impulse that she decided to take a look inside the young man's closet. The light smile that had graced her face for these additional minutes of searching was wiped from her face the instant she found a particular picture. Having to see that the bastard had somehow snagged one of her own pictures, a selfie (which was even more creepy as Max made those very seldom) and taped it to the wall had been enough to want to wreck his room, when she found it before tearing it off and putting it in her pocket, but this…

The picture showed Chloe, clearly out of it, frightened, helpless, lying on the floor of this very room, curled up in an embryo-pose, her beany torn from her head, taken by someone standing over her. Memories, too many to be from one and the same time-line, popped up in her head. Memories of what Chloe, or various Chloe's had told her. Various versions of what had happened, just as this Chloe had told her back at the lighthouse… It was as if hundreds of pictures, images and voices tried to all fit in in the same spot, but the 'original' preserved, though the afterimages of the most horrid scenarios lingered on in her mind's eye…

She barely registered how she swung open the door and stepped into the hallway, or even how she rewound to the point where the door was unscratched again. It was like she was in a haze… Her mind was fighting for some control over the rage that threatened to overwhelm the rocker-girl, but it was all for naught, when she heard the voice of the young Prescott as he started to yell at Chloe. Every thought of possibly rewinding was lost to her. Actually every rational thought was lost to her in that moment. She rushed along the hallway towards where she had left her blue-haired friend to keep a look-out. She barely registered that she was moving at all… It was as if a red film had settled before her eyes, obscuring the surroundings. She knew this feeling. She knew it all too well…

"What are you doing in my dorm?" She heard the young man ask rather loudly. "You fucking bitch have not enough? You want some payback?" He said right at the moment, when Max turned around the corner of the hallway. He noticed the rocker-gal and turned towards her showing the blue-nette out of his way with such force that the young woman staggered and fell backwards to the ground.

He opened his mouth to say something to the fast approaching girl with short-cut brown-red hair as he was about to pull out a new gun, but anything he might have wanted to say was cut off as he suddenly had to gasp for air and ring for balance as he himself was nearly sent flying backwards. The brand new gun fell to the ground uselessly.

Without uttering a single word the young woman had pulled a kick to his stomach which would have made Leonidas from '300' proud. The only thing that was missing was for her to scream 'This is Sparta!'. But she didn't. There was no room in her mind for any thoughts like that. She was mostly acting on muscle-memory as she stepped in and turned in a fluid motion to deliver a heavy blow with her shin to the side of the young man's torso, before spinning and hitting him again just as he was already collapsing to the ground, completely losing his balance. In the blink of an eye she was on top of him and jabbed him hard in the face as the man tried to fend her off. It became immediately clear that he was no match for the enraged Muay Thai boxer as she ruthlessly beat him again and again, and he went from trying to land himself a hit on her to just trying to cover his face from her vicious blows. Max didn't really notice though. She just crashed one hard hit to his face or the exposed torso after another. She didn't notice when her hand started to come away bloody and the resistance the young man put up started to grow weaker and weaker being replaced by whimpers of pain and pleas to stop. She didn't even notice that those pleas were not only those of Nathan, but those of Chloe and Warren as well. It took quite a while before her mind registered that she was being forcefully dragged off the young man, who was still lying on the ground whimpering, crying and trying to cover his beaten face with his hands.

"Please, stop… Stop… I'm sorry…" His nose appeared not broken but was without a doubt bloodied. A cut on his cheek was an indication with what force the young, but rather strong woman had punched the man. He seemed to have slight trouble breathing – she might have cracked a few of his ribs.

"Max, stop it! He's down! Snap out of it!" It was only now that she noticed Chloe's pleading voice, heavy with worry. Warren, Trevor and Dana were trying to hold her off from lunging at the beaten young man again.

"Come on, Max. It's over." The red fog in her mind hadn't subsided completely, when an equally frightened and worried Warren ushered her to move along and out of the boy's dorms. Trevor and Dana weren't following them out, exchanging worried looks before scramming for the boy's room.

"Yeah, we have to go." Chloe let go of her friend, who was still completely silent and had a straight face, to quickly grab the new gun the young Prescott had tried to pull on them, sparing him a single concerned look, before rushing after the nerd who was still firmly gripping the young rock-girl's arm as if worrying she might run back to finish what she started at any moment. As much as she had wanted to see the bastard beaten – this was way more intense and scary than she had ever imagined…

It was only when they were at Chloe's truck that Max seemed to finally regain her senses. Warren had let her go and was looking at her with an expression that was a mix of fear and awe.

"Damn, that was intense, Max! I know you broke the fingers of Adam back at the beginning of the semester for trying to smack your butt, but this was just fucking brutal." He was blabbing, slightly fidgeting as he looked for something for Max to wipe her knuckles. "I mean – you literally handed Nathan his ass there. You went kinda crazy there…" He finally found a handkerchief and handed it to Max, who started to clean her hands, but didn't seem to notice the small cut on her right hand, which she had probably got from hitting either the ground as Nathan had tried to move his head out of harm's way or from hitting his cheekbone. "So… Should I call the cops on Nathan or something, or should I stick with you, just in case you get your Hulk on and need someone to stop you?" The rocker-girl remained silent, her gaze was somewhat unsettling and the young man unintentionally took a step back.

"No cops! Not now at least… Trust me, I got this covered." The punk-girl with blue hair said as confidently as she could, even as she didn't know if she could hold her friend back all on her own. It had taken all four of them after all to get Max to stop after all… "And no offense, but me and Max have to do this on our own."

"It's cool. Whatever I can do to help…" The young nerdy man offered straightening himself a bit.

"What you can do is find out anything you can about Nathan's father…" Both the punk-girl and the young man turned to the rocker-gal, who was studying her knuckles. The tone in which she spoke was warm enough, but it still held an edge that both found somewhat worrying.

"I-I'm on it." Warren replied taking the bloodied handkerchief back, when Max extended her hand to give it back to its owner. "Between the snow and the eclipse, I'm assuming the apocalypse is around the corner. Damn, you could actually stand as one of the riders if you ever intended to do cosplay – you would be an awesome personification of War… Um… I'll call you later." The young man turned and walked back in the direction of the dorms after Max didn't really reply other than with a nod. He seemed kind of downcast by that, but tried not to show it.

"Man, that guy sure has a sweet spot for you in his nerd-heart…" Chloe mused not at all amused by what she had seen in the eyes of the young man, when he had looked at her best friend. "Regardless of that, I have to agree with him. Max, what did just happen? I mean, thank you for defending me and all, but you went seriously ' _Mortal Combat_ ' on Nathan… Not that I'm complaining, though… but still this was kinda scary, I have to agree on that one with nerd-boy. It was like you had totally lost it…" She tried her best to explain just what she had felt in the moment she had seen the rage-filled expression on the rocker-girl's face as she had relentlessly rained down punches on the young Prescott. "You went full alpha there…" The look on her friends face was an unchanged mask and it started to seriously bother her. It was like the rage she had seen had only subsided for a little bit, just enough to make the rocker-gal receptive to speaking and such.

"I found this." Max said as she pushed a photo into Chloe's hand, before turning and clambering into the truck without another word. Seeing the photo of herself made the punk-girl's stomach turn and her own anger boil up in her.

"That fu-…" She didn't finish her sentence, when she saw the rocker-girl hunched over in the passenger-seat, and instead quickly got into the car herself. The woman with brown-red hair was covering her face with her hands and was trembling, but whether it was due to her rage or due to something different Chloe couldn't tell from this point of view. "Max, I'm okay. You gave that motherfucker a beat down he won't recover from so quickly, and you defended and saved me. It's alright now…" Well, it wasn't really, but for her friends sake she tried to push the thoughts of what might have happened back then if she hadn't regained consciousness as quickly as she had from her mind.

"I should have simply crushed his scull…" Max muttered in a quiet voice, clearly strained by her trying to hold in tears and her anger, and Chloe was painfully reminded of what had happened to the rocker-gal herself once in Seattle. "Seeing the photo… I remembered all what you had told me and what-… I couldn't take it…" She could see the rock-girl was on the verge of either breaking down, but whether it would be crying or getting out of the car to go and finish what she started, the punk-girl couldn't tell as both rage and sadness were clearly showing in the shorter woman's eyes. "And when I saw him yelling at you, threatening you… I just snapped…" Somehow the punk-girl couldn't help but think that the girl, who had just beaten one of the main bastards of the whole Academy to a pulp, was not talking about only 'her' in a sense. It was weird, but the feeling remained…

"Fuck, Chloe, I just cannot take it any longer. I just can't. I-" The young rocker-girl was interrupted from continuing what she wanted to say as the taller girl wrapped her in a tight hug and pressed her own lips on those of her best friend. Chloe didn't really think what she was doing. It came naturally to her. All she knew that she just wanted to somehow sooth and comfort the rocker-gal. And somehow, when the idea of just kissing the shorter girl had popped up in her head, it seemed like the most logical thing in the world, blanking out anything else. ' _I mean, hell, if I was down or stressed out, or something, I'd like to be kissed by Max… repeatedly._ '

It did seem to take the rocker-girl's mind of what she had been thinking about, as she eased into the kiss, returning it hungrily, as if this was nourishment for her soul. And despite her intention to only kiss the rocker-gal once, this 'kiss' soon turned into a quick, but rather heated make-out session as their tongues wrestled for dominance and their hands pulled them as close to one another as possible, slightly wandering, but with them both trying to restrain themselves. By the time where they broke it off to get some much needed oxygen back in their lungs it had turned into something full of tender, but still greedy passion.

"Damn, Mad Max…" Chloe said between gasps of air. "Phew… I mean, you really know how to turn situations on their head completely don't you? I'm not complaining, but we are still on the campus grounds, you know… Calmed down a bit?" She asked half-jokingly, but her mind was racing on full-speed. ' _Okay, okay… Just stay calm, Chloe. It's not like you hadn't kissed her_ (' _and done more than just kissing_ ' a rebellious voice in her head reminded her of that) _before… but what the actual fuck, just happened? For once brain and heart – explain this to me!_ ' She felt like on a rollercoaster as her mind was sent stumbling headlong into an argument about what she had just done, why she had done it and what it actually meant to her. Still, she couldn't deny being happy about the closeness to the girl with brown-red hair and about the quick make-out session they just had… Max's voice pulled her up from the depths of her mind, when the shorter woman rested her head against the crook of the blue-nettes neck.

"Yeah, I'm calm. I'm good now." The shorter girl said actually seeming calmer, if a bit dazed for once. "But it was you who started it even with us being on the campus grounds..."

"Well, I had to take your mind of things somehow, so I just figured, why not do it literally?" The punk-girl laughed a little, trying to mask her thoughts and actually trying to ignore the internal conflict raging in her completely. It was easier to concentrate on their initial task… "Max… I hate to be that girl, but we still need to make a date with Frank, if we want to clear this up…" And just as that she had again ruined the moment they just had…

"Right… Last time went well, so what could go wrong now, eh?" The rocker-gal's mood soured a bit, but she waved a hand at her friend as she settled back in the passenger seat, indicating that she didn't really mean it. "Do you think he'll answer you? With me in tow?"

"Frank always answers when he wants money." The punk-girl tipped in a quick message on her phone. The answer was nearly immediate. "Like I said, Frank wants to see me right now."

"Let's get this over with." The rocker-girl sighed, but smiled when she felt her best friend's hand giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. " _'No, lollygagging._ ' It is then."

"Okay, now that annoying reference I got!" The blue haired woman said rolling her eyes at her friend as they pulled out of the parking lot and drove for the beach, where the dealer had said he'd be. It was more out of habit that she turned on the radio just as they started driving. The first thing that they heard was Chester Bennington singing the Linkin Park song ' _Easier to run_ '. The blue-nette rolled her eyes again. ' _Ugh, you have to be fucking kidding me!_ '

* * *

-Nobody's listening-

* * *

"I hate seeing these poor whales like that." Chloe intoned as they pulled up at the parking lot near the beach, where they already could see Frank's RV standing. "I just think of their families in the ocean out there looking for them." The girl next to her didn't reply. She had gotten silent again the moment they got near the beach, as if she was somewhere far away, deep in her thoughts. "Well, that asshole is going to help us find Rachel." Chloe added, checking the second gun she had taken from Nathan this week.

"Or what? You shoot him? I get my rage on and beat him to a pulp? Chloe, let's just get over this, okay? I don't know how much I can handle today… and I don't know if we can really count on my rewind powers… Seriously." The young rocker looked pained as she was staring at the stranded whales.

"I get it, Max. And I'm obviously not counting on your rewind powers. That's why I have a gun." Chloe intoned somewhat jokingly, hoping the rocker-gal would see that she wasn't serious. "And I might even save you someday."

"That'd be nice… like a prince on a white horse." Although she still didn't look away from the whales, the punk-girl could tell that the rocker-gal was enjoying this thought, as she smiled to herself, even if that smile was a bit sad for some reason.

"Hey, know what? When this is over, let's just all go on a road trip to Portland or L.A. With the leftover money from what I have to pay Frank back we could totally make it." The look on Max's face just made Chloe want to get her to think of something nice. Of course – nothing went as she really wanted, when a voice in her head prompted her to blurt out what something before her brain even registered it. "You, me… and Rachel!"

"That'd be great… So let's play it cool, okay? Get the code for the book and then bail." The rocker-girl said as she got out of the truck and started to walk towards the RV. Chloe didn't miss the look on her friend's face. As she followed suit and walked over to the RV another voice in her head berated her. ' _Right, you had to mention Rachel, just after the girl, who stopped Nathan from pulling a gun on you again and beat him bloody, had a near-break down and with whom you made out in the truck a short while ago. Just fucking bravo, Chloe!_ _Damn… I really can fuck up just about everything, right?'_

"C'mon, Blue. Let's get this done." The shorter girl said as she reached up and knocked on the door of the dealer's RV and stepped back. After a short moment the door was opened and the man in question stepped out of his mobile home.

"Oh, look… The Wonder Twins. You should have come alone." He said turning to the blue-haired girl.

"She's my partner." The punk-girl replied with some confidence, but tried not to make a big issue out of this. ' _Play it cool, Price. Just like Max said._ '

"Yeah, or your fucking psycho bodyguard." The older man glared at the brown-red haired girl, but didn't step much closer. He could handle quite a bit and knew how to throw a punch. Hell, he had been in quite a few fistfights before, but this short, but obviously ripped woman was something else. Even if right now she didn't seem to be out for his head and actually looked somewhat lost in thought, the ruthlessness he had seen in her eyes back at the junkyard, combined with the fact, that she actually hadn't even flinched when she pulled the trigger and nearly shot his leg, plus the fact that she could act just as normal if not out-right nice seemingly on a whim, was unsettling him. He could fully well imagine that the young woman in front of him could make the threats from back at the junkyard come true. "So let's get to business. Where is my fucking money?" He focused on the blue-nette again. It surprised him somewhat, when the young punk-girl looked over to the other girl, as if asking what to do. The woman with the nose-piercing and the black boots nodded. Without saying anything the punk-girl reached into her pocket and produced an envelope, holding it out to him in her hand so he could take it. Besides being surprised by the fact that Chloe, the girl who was almost always broke had the money, he was even more stunned to see that it was the right amount down to the dollar.

"Oh, why, thank you! That wasn't so hard, now was it?" He couldn't help but make a sarcastic remark, even if he didn't really mean it. Not at the moment at least. "And let's not do anymore business again." He shot Max a weary glance. "Now, if you'd excuse me."

"Frank…" Chloe intoned in a somewhat pleading tone, just as he was about to open the door to get into his RV, making him slightly turn towards her. "Could we ask you a couple of quick questions?"

"You have some serious ladyballs." He laughed without any real amusement, but turned towards the two girls anyways. "No." The reaction from Chloe was again something he hadn't expected. Well, to be truthful, he hadn't even expected her to have the money, not to mention the tone in which the blue haired punk talked to him. It felt like something was not right. The girl looked downright sullen and sad at his answer, like he had just spat her in the face or something. The rocker-girl with the crossed arms before her chest just stared at him blankly. There was no menace in her look, but something like a silent judgement, which was even worse. "Jesus, okay, okay. But I'm not getting you high."

"Frank, we're not here to get high." It was the first time Max spoke up in the conversation.

"No? Are you really sure that's not why you're here? 'Cause if it is you can just scram. So, now. What do you Hardy Boys want?" He crossed his arms over his chest, but didn't move from the spot.

"We need the names of some of your clients." The rocker-gal sighed, letting her arms fall to her sides, as if she was anticipating his reaction.

"Oh, is that all?" This was again something he hadn't expected, but also something he wasn't too happy about to hear. "Well, why didn't you just tell me? How about I just give you the keys to my RV while I'm at it?"

"Listen, Frank. Trust me, we don't want to be here any longer than we have to, but this is important." The shorter woman replied, pinching the bridge of her nose, as if concentrating on what to say and not letting her emotions rule over her.

"Yeah, yeah. Everything is important these days." He mustered the girls and could tell that they were actually serious. "But I can tell you're not bullshitting me."

"There's no time for that, Frank. All we need is just a little bit of information and then we're gone." The young rocker looked him directly in the eyes.

"Yeah, yeah… well, it all starts with just a little bit, doesn't it? Chloe here knows all about that, don't you?" He didn't really feel like arguing with the two teenage women, but one has to draw a line somewhere, right?

"Come on, Frank. This isn't about me now." Chloe jumped in angrily, riling him up too.

"Yeah, right, okay. Both of you are giving me a headache. No deal!" He shot back just as angrily.

"Seriously, Frank. We didn't come here to fight." Max sighed again heavily, giving her friend a serious look.

"You… you come in peace?" Now this was just getting beautiful. "After you aimed a fucking gun at me and nearly shot me in the leg? After you threaten me?"

"You held a knife on my best friend, whom I had just seen again after five years and after going through some serious shit. As I said back then – I don't have anything against you particularly, but nobody threatens those dear to me in my presence and gets away without even a little scare." The rocker-gal shrugged, but actually managed to say it all in a way that it sounded apologetic. And she actually meant it. She didn't need any more enemies in the world.

"Well, you sure did pull a number back there…" The blonde man calmed down a bit. He didn't really want to fight with the girls. "Maybe I shouldn't have brought that knife to a gunfight."

"Look, Frank, you were scaring me and I had gotten enough of that the day before… Besides Max doesn't need a gun anyway… so are we cool? Please?" The taller woman with the blue hair asked.

"Okay, we're cool for now, but my dog isn't." He let his arms drop too, but was still weary of the shorter woman. "And if you try any shit, he'll bite your head off. He's done it before."

"Frank, we're only here to talk. I wouldn't mess with your dog." Max said again looking the dealer straight in the eyes. He could see she was honest with him on that.

"Shit, you wouldn't have time… You like dogs?" It was as much a peace offer for now as he would make.

"Yeah, even had one myself …" She felt like something had hit her in the stomach and her head hurt. Memories from different 'pasts' and 'presents' flooded her mind as one after another replayed another incident she had tried to forget. But was it really something from _this_ timeline? It was getting hard to focus on one the memory she thought was the original… It was like her mind was blurring things together, but some facts remained unchanged in every memory. "I had Chad-boy for little over a year… before two winters ago some motherfucker with a red van hit him as we were crossing the road. That fucker didn't even stop… He wasn't dead on the spot, you know… And when the vets came, they said they couldn't do anything for him… Have you ever seen a dog cry?" Anger made it impossible for her to speak for a while, but the dealer and the blue-nette remained quiet. One – feeling sympathetic to the rocker-gal, starting to think that he understood a bit better from where all her aggressiveness came from; the other – not knowing what to do or how to react as her friend revealed another aspect of the many traumatic experiences she had lived through after moving to Seattle. "The police never found that bastard as it was too dark to see the number on the number plate…" Her eyes focused on the here and now again as she drifted back from her bitter memories. "Never had another dog afterwards."

"Shit. I'm sorry for your loss. Hope that fucker rots in hell…" Frank finally broke the silence that had fallen over the trio after a few moments.

"Yeah, I hope so too. But if I ever find him…" There it was again, the look in the rocker-girls' eyes that made him so uncomfortable. But it vanished surprisingly quickly as the shorter woman even managed a wan smile. "Pompidou's lucky though. Heard you rescued a bunch of fight dogs and took him in. He seems like a big, cuddly goofball." He had to admit – he was a little bit amazed by how much the young woman actually knew, but then again – he hadn't really made a secret out of it.

"Yeah, that's how I got to own Pompidou… It was just the right thing to do." The dealer said as he looked at the girl with the nose-piercing, who again seemed to slightly drift off in her thoughts. "I just couldn't stand to see those poor animals treated like slaves…"

"Hope you gave whomever owned them before hell…" The rocker-girl said earnestly, looking him directly in the eyes, before taking a deep breath as if to gather hear thoughts. "But that is not the story we're here for… Could we focus on rescuing Rachel again now?" This surprised both the man with the dirty blonde hair, as well as the blue-haired punk-girl, who didn't know how to feel or react, as her feelings and thoughts were sent for another tumble. She knew that Max was doing this to help her, but how could she pour so much energy into this, when it should have been Chloe herself, who should have done the talking, the questioning, and the research? In little under a week since the rocker-gal had shown up in her life again she was now closer to finding her missing best friend than ever before ('former' or 'still' – she hadn't yet decided on that though after finding out what she had…).

"Rachel? Is that why you're really here?" Frank asked, looking downcast by speaking the name alone. The rocker-girl nodded.

"Yes. We're so close to finding her, Frank. But we need your help on this one." Chloe spoke up for the first time in a while turning towards the older man.

"You and Max don't know Rachel like I did and I couldn't even help her…" There was hurt in the man's voice. "You're in way over your heads. Why don't you just go play in your clubhouse?"

"It's like you said, Frank. You knew Rachel almost better than anybody." It was only fain, but there was something heavy in Max's voice. The man standing in front of them didn't seem to notice, but Chloe heard it clearly. It was like a hidden sneer saying 'Well, I knew her too'. It was somewhat disturbing, as it felt, like the Max she was looking at right now was a bit different, but then again – her best friend could rewind time. Maybe she had snooped around a bit or something… But before the punk-girl could drift too far in her thoughts Max's voice tore her back to reality. "That is exactly why we came to you. Together we could find her… Do you have anything to lose?"

"When Rachel vanished, I pretty much lost everything…" The man crossed his arms over his chest, but his voice grew lower in volume and somewhat choked. "I can't stand not knowing where she is… not hearing her voice… or her laugh… anymore."

"Help us find her, Frank. Please… we really need your client list." This time Chloe's mind focused on the task at hand, as some old feelings welled up in her, when she saw that the man in front of her could actually help them. Silence settled again between the three of them as the man pondered about the situation for a short moment.

"If there is a chance in hell you two punks can find Rachel… I'll take it." He finally said looking at the two young women. "My dog isn't barking at you, so I guess that's a good sign." He added, muttering, as if talking more to himself than them, before he took out a crumbled old note from his pocket and handed it to Chloe, as she was standing closer to him.

"Thank you, Frank. Seriously." Chloe mumbled gratefully, as she stuffed the note in her own pocket.

"It's hard to decide if I can take you seriously, but I want to… Your friend here is ruthless, that's for sure and if she can pull what she did on me, than maybe you two can really get to the bottom of this." He said in a surprisingly mild tone. "Good luck." With that the man turned and got into his RV, leaving the two women standing outside.

"Wow… I don't know how to really feel about this, but we actually did it." Chloe said when she finally reached her truck and climbed into the driver's seat.

"Yeah… like with the sixth try, Blue-Jay." The rocker-gal replied as she closed the door on the side of the passenger seat.

"Wait, what?" This stunned the blue-nette a bit. It worried her too, thinking that something had happened that caused her friend to rewind. "What happened?"

"Let's just say that you really need to watch your mouth sometimes." The shorter woman waved her hand dismissively. She looked tired and a bit distraught. "Let's get rolling, Chloe… We still have a shitload of work to do if we really want to bet to the bottom of this."

"Yeah. You're probably right. On both accounts." The punk-girl replied as she turned the keys and the engine roared to life.

"You know I am right. Always have been on such things. And that is why you love me, dontcha, Blue?" The rocker-gal asked rhetorically and nonchalantly, but gave her stunned, blushing friend a tired lopsided grin, before turning back to look out of the window as they drove out of the parking lot onto the road. And while the girl with brown-red hair drifted off into her thoughts and the jungle of her memories, the other woman's mind was a warzone between two factions – one that was fiercely trying to ignore the whole situation and concentrate on what they had to do, namely finding Rachel, and the other (the winning side) – that just couldn't stop thinking about that one phrase her best friend had just said ' _that's why you love me_ '…

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **Hey, guys and gals. I'm sorry that this latest chapter is bing published so late (pun intended), but work and other issues got in the way of me writing it and I think the quality has suffered from it quite a bit too. So, please be ruthless and truthful in the reviews and say opnely if this one is worse than the previous ones and how I could improve. I hope that I get the next ones done faster, but taking into account how life seems to know just when to mess with me - I kinda doubt it (still, I hope it will be done before the next weekend).**

 **With that said - cheers and have a great day and rest of the week ;)!**


	10. Chapter 10

**WARNING:**

 **All characters and the story upon which this fanfiction is based are property of Dontnod Entertainment and Square Enix. I don't own anything.** **  
**

 **As this is my first story to be published here, I will be happy about every reviews - both good and bad as only so I can know what I have to improve. :)**

 **Rated M for crude and strong language at times, violence and mature content.**

* * *

\- Red Raw-

* * *

Max had been completely silent while they had driven back from the beach to the house, but then again – Chloe didn't really have much to say. She was too preoccupied with getting her thoughts back on track and on the task of finding Rachel. Only when they finally got to her room and Max crashed on the bed did she speak up.

„You okay, Blue?" The rocker-gal mumbled still lying face-down on the blue-nette's bed.

„I'm glad things worked out okay with Frank." She answered truthfully as she sat down on the chair by the desk and booted up her laptop. This small question had given her mind the needed kick to focus what they had started this morning. „It's nice to have one less enemy in Arcadia Bay."

„I hear you." The shorter woman grunted as she rolled over on her back and grudgingly got up from it, clearly also intending to focus on the task of binding the various clues together that they had gathered during their little raid today. Before she got to the board and unpacked the stashed 'loot' though knocking noises from her phone made her stop to check, who'd written her.

'Hi Max. Just thought I'd wish you and Chloe good luck for your search. With what little luck I have left.' Read the surprising message from Frank. She hadn't anticipated him to get this friendly just because of their conversation, even if he did agree to help by giving them what they had asked – the names of his clients.

'Thanks, Frank. The bigger the team, the more luck we have.' She tipped in a short reply, but was again surprised, when the older man wrote back again nearly instantaneously.

'I see why Chloe digs you. Stop by later if you both want to party. And good luck!' This made her smile a bit though. ' _Seems like Frank is a softie after all. Even after all that went down… Still, better get started on getting to see what all the clues can tell us. And let's be extra concentrated on this – RPG style. First rule: Combine everything with everything._ ' She focused again on the task and without much ado she started to go through Frank's notebook as she checked with the list of names he had given them, which client was Nathan and when he'd bought drugs from the dealer.

It took her a short while, but she found the times and places for when and where the young Prescott had bought his drugs from Frank. Combining these findings with the Intel that Chloe's stepfather had gathered on Nathan resulted in her rather quickly finding what she had hoped for to find. 'Fuck, am I good or what?' She allowed herself a little bit of pride about how fast she had been with finding and combining the right clues.

"Yo, Chloe! I think I found what we're looking for, but we gotta check. Let's plug in these numbers and see if they lead to an actual address." The girl with brown-red hair said as she came up to her friend, who was checking up some data on the net.

"Aye aye, Captain." The punk-girl replied and got straight to the task, while Max herself went back to the cardboard and started to look through the messages Nathan had on his phone after successfully unlocking it with the third try. This time around it took her a bit longer to find the connections between the messages on Nathan's phone and the places he had gone to buy the drugs, but from what she had read on his phone it matched with the times of the Vortex Club parties and the times in Frank's note-book.

"Found it!" She exclaimed as she got back to her friend who was still going through the various places and coordinates she had dug up before. "This is definitely the place."

"Nope. Nothing, Max. There's nothing there but a shitty old barn." The punk-girl with the blue hair sighed, when the quick search for the location her friend had provided resulted with the image of an old, seemingly abandoned barn somewhere in the outer proximity of the town, popping up.

"There has to be more. Why would Nathan meet Frank there? Why this specific place? We gotta find out who owns that shithole." The rocker-girl with the nose-piercing insisted.

"I'm on this. Hold on." Her friend sighed, but still got back to searching. The results she came up with were not really surprising. "Somebody named 'Harry Aaron Prescott'."

"Booya! I knew it!" The shorter woman exclaimed a bit excitedly as it seemed their whole endeavour of finding the clues finally paid off and everything started to fall into place, but her demeanour changed quickly as the thoughts of what might be there started to crawl up in her mind and it was nothing pretty. "We have to go check this barn out and see what's there…"

"Right! No police! Can't trust them, 'cause they are like Nathan's personal babysitters. Just the two of us. Nobody else. After what I saw today I doubt even an army could stop you. So, I'm not scared at all. Plus you have _the_ power!" Chloe said, her thoughts focused on the girl they tried to find this time. "I feel like we're this close to finding Rachel…"

"Yeah, I feel so too." The rocker-gal replied a bit hesitantly, still in her thoughts, but followed her friend, who already was on her way down the stairs and to her car.

It took them the better part of an hour to get to the old farmhouse, but as they got out of the car, the first thing they saw was the fresh tire tracks on the untrimmed lawn and the dirt before the door of the barn.

"Dude, somebody was just here." Chloe said as she took a closer look at the imprints in the ground. "We need to get in that barn." They both looked around for another way to enter the barn, as the door was locked with a heavy padlock, but it was Max who found the opening in on the side of the barn that was covered by only leaning a few metal plates against it.

"Chloe! I found the front door!" The rocker-girl said, raising her voice to a half-shout, so that her friend would hear her, before she entered the barn through the opening. The farmhouse was dimly lit and full of haystacks.

"Oh, yes! Maximus rules!" She heard her friend say under as she jogged over to the other side of the barn and got in as well.

"Yeah, right. I found hay. Such clues! Much wow." The rocker with brown-red hair snorted dismissively as she started to look around a bit more as her eyes adjusted to the half-dark of the space around them.

"More like Blair Witch, if you ask me." The punk-girl mumbled as her eyes too adjusted to the half-lit room.

"Sais the girl who told me she isn't afraid." Max replied teasingly, but didn't feel really comfortable herself. Something just felt really off about this place. Her eyes fell on an old chest near to where they were standing. "Hey, check this out!" She opened it, but all that was there seemed to be old files, account-books or some other stuff nobody needed anymore.

"Jackpot. Old shit." This time it was Chloe's turn to tease. "Come on, SuperMax. You nearly pulled a real-life Sherlock thing back home with all the clues. There's got to be more to it, if this really is the place. Or this might not be the place after all." The blue-nette let a folder she had picked up from the trunk fall back into it. As she let her eyes wander over the room she saw something on the ground that didn't seem to fit in with the rest of it.

"It is the place. The coordinates and everything matched perfectly-." The shorter woman cut of her sentence as her eyes followed the outstretched hand of her best friend pointing to a heavy-looking padlock attached to a hatch on the ground. "Got some good eyes there, Chloe." She said as she made her way over to the hatch, closely followed by the punk-girl. "It looks new … And recently used." The rocker-gal commented as she knelt down and took a closer look at the padlock. It was sturdy, that's for sure. "Not gonna get this open with our bare hands though…" A quick scoop around the room gave her an idea.

"I think I got this, but I'm gonna need your help though." She said, before telling her friend of what she was exactly thinking of and how she intended to get the strangely out-of-place hatch open.

"Sidekick at your service." The blue haired woman agreed and went to give her friend a boost as the shorter woman tried to climb up some loosely connected storeys, leading up to a half-build second store, which had at some point been probably used as an additional place to stack hay.

Max got onto the first storey easy with Chloe giving her a push and used the handle of an old motor to pull it down on the first storey so as to make herself an improvised stepping-platform. While Chloe was still watching her friends' acrobatics with her arms crossed before her chest, Max already had checked what she was looking for. A small rewind later she was standing on the second storage and the motor was still up there too. Without wasting time she loosened one end of a rope that was tied to one of the central poles holding up the roof of the farmhouse.

"Hey, Chloe! Look if when I pull on this rope the one with the hook starts to move too. If yes, then attach the hook to the padlock and step away from the hatch." She instructed her friend, while tying her own and of the rope to the motor, when she heard the blue-nette's affirmation of her suspicion and the clank of the hook being attached to the padlock. "Okay, just to be sure – just get the hell away from the hatch. Best go next to the old chest over there."

"Okay, okay. Fine. It's not like you're gonna drop something on me." The punk-girl said, though she knew what Max's plan was and thus obeyed her friends request and moved to the old chest at the far end of the barn. "Growing a bit overprotective here?" She asked a bit snappily, but then again she didn't mean it really in a snappy way. ' _Guess with all that has happened this week, I kinda didn't really establish an image of being completely capable of ensuring my own safety…_ ' She was still musing about it, when a loud crash ripped her attention from her thoughts to the motor that had just crashed down to the ground barely a few feet away from the hatch. The padlock on the hatch had been ripped clean off. "I'll take my words back."

"Hey! I told you to get away from the hatch so that it doesn't hit you. And did it hit you? No." The brown-red haired girl stuck her tongue out at her friend when she had finally climbed down from the second store and came up to the blue-haired punk, who already was opening up the hatch. "So no complaining- What the fuck?!" The teasing tone from Max's voice was replaced by one of utter disbelief and something that Chloe couldn't put her finger on, but it seemed to scare and at the same time enrage the rocker-gal immensely.

"I know, right? Do I even need to say how weird this is?" The blue-nette said as she took a closer look at what they had found. It looked like the hatch led to an underground bunker or safe-room from the looks of it. "I mean, who builds this kind of place?" This somehow gave her the creeps, but still it was their best shot in their search for more clues. Still, even as her mind was obsessed with the task of finding Rachel (for one, because she knew that she actually missed her friend, even if she would kick her ass first thing when she would see her again, but for the other – it blocked out the other thoughts troubling her – the thoughts about what she felt for the shorter woman standing next to her), she had to steel her nerves and start walking down the stairs leading to whatever structure was there, as her instincts told her to stay away from it. She didn't notice that the rocker-girl with the nose-piercing had gone pale and was not looking at the hatch or the stairs at all. She was staring at a small fluttering insect as it vanished again out of an opening between the boards of the farmhouse-walls, seemingly melting together with the colour of the sky.

"Hey, Max, you okay?" It was only when her friend grabbed her shoulder from behind, as she was trying to open a heavy iron door hoping that the code she had tried to type into the keypad next to it was right, that the punk-girl noticed something was really riling the rocker-gal up.

"Just- Let's get this done and be out of here. I don't want to stay here any longer than we have to." The shorter girl said, her face unreadable and it started to worry Chloe, but her friend didn't give her time to ask further questions. The rocker-girl pushed her slightly to the side and pulled out a sheet of paper she had used to write down various possible clues on, when they had been at Chloe's home. "Let me try something." She said as she typed in a code in the keypad. Something clicked and the rocker-gal went to turn the valve to open the door.

"Oh, yes! I thought this would work only in movies!" The punk-girl's spirits soared a bit as her friend pulled the door completely open, but when she entered the room behind the heavy iron door the uneasiness that was written on her best friends' face started to grow on her. Something really didn't feel right. "Stocked and ready for the apocalypse. This must cost a fortune." She commented as she took a look around the room. The first section of what seemed to be a converted bunker of some kind was practically bursting with various food-stuffs and nearly everything that one would need to survive a couple of weeks without getting out of it. "Come on." She said to Max, who was still standing at the door, seeming rather pale.

"Everything is sketchy as fuck, but nothing about Rachel here." The blue-nette said as Max made her way to the second part of the bunker. It made her stomach churn and a sickening sense of _deja vu_ was spreading in her mind. This second section of the bunker had been converted into some twisted image of a high-tech photo studio, with some black and white pictures of bound women adorning the walls. A letter on one of the desks and a peculiar-looking red jacket caught Max's eye.

' _Shit. That's Nathan's jacket… was he the one who has been here recently?_ ' She mused as she picked up the letter. It was not that she feared Nathan. Actually she was rather fearing for him in a twisted sense as she didn't know if, after whatever they would find here, the young man would walk away from their next encounter. And at this point she didn't know if she would be able to control her rage at all… it already had taken so little back in the dorms for her to nearly bash in the young Prescotts' head. ' _Damn, that fucker is sick in the head… He needs serious psychological treatment…_ ' She left the letter on the table where she had found it and turned to look over the room again. This was seriously giving her the creeps. She found another strange note on the desk with the set up PC, but after quickly flying over it, she left it there too. ' _Is it from his father or…?_ ' She wondered, but something else caught her attention. The door to a jet-black locker near the desk was standing slightly ajar and the rocker-gal could see that it was stacked full with red portfolios.

"Chloe? I think I found something." The woman with the brown-red hair said to the punk-girl as she took three of the numerous labelled portfolios and stacked them on the desk. The first binder was marked 'Victoria'. "Okay, the first one is empty…"

"Look, the next one says 'Kate'." The taller woman said as she opened the second binder Max had found in the locker. It was filled with black pages, marked with white ink and decorated with black and white pictures of the young girl they had visited in the hospital just moments ago. She had clearly been conscious at the time of the photos, as her eyes indicated, but she probably didn't even realise what was happening to her…

"That motherfucker!" The young punk-girl nearly leaped two feet in the air, when the shorter woman slammed her hand on the desk, startling her. "I should have killed that bastard back there." The rage in her friends' voice left no room for wondering if the rocker-gal would actually kill the young Prescott. The look on Max's face was enough to send cold shivers down Chloe's spine – the rocker-gal was looking downright fierce and frightening.

"Kate wasn't the first… All those binders are filled with other victims." The blue haired woman muttered under her breath as she tried to focus on the binders before them and trying not to think too much about the number of those still in the locker behind her.

"Victoria was probably supposed to be next…" The look on Max's face made it clear that she was ready to beat the living shit out of anything that would move into her sight right now. "Nathan must be planning to dose her tonight at the Vortex Club party." She concluded and winced, when Chloe opened the last binder she had taken from the locker. It was labelled 'Rachel'. The pictures in the binder clearly showed the girl they had been searching for…

"This can't be real…" The punk-girl said in a small voice, as desperation started to get a hold on her. "These are all- these are all posed shots, right? Right?" But from one look on the face of the young woman in the photos it was clear – she was completely out of it. When the rocker-gal didn't answer, the taller woman just continued to try and make excuses for what she was seeing. "Maybe- maybe Nathan paid her a shitload of cash to do this. She probably would have…" The girl next to her was standing there as if she had frozen solid – pale and nearly unblinking; her face was an unreadable mask. Only the glint in her eyes indicated to the blue-nette that her friend was still there with her.

"I don't think so." Came a slow answer from the woman with brown-red hair, as she pointed at a particular picture. "Why is he putting her in the ground like that? Where-" She didn't finish her sentence as she bolted for the door, prompting Chloe to stumble after her. "The junkyard! Chloe, we have to the junkyard right now!" Dread was filling her gut and mind, and it took all her willpower not to fall or stumble as she ran to her friends' truck. She hoped against hope that what she thought was happening in the photo they had just seen was not real, but what she had seen before entering the bunker turned creepy photo-studio was still fresh in her mind. Memories of the young blonde woman from the various 'pasts' and 'presents' plopped up in her mind, while she ran. Even if she hadn't known the young woman, who had become Chloe's new best friend after she had left for Seattle, in this timeline – she still cared for her, as in some other timelines it had been Rachel that saved her more than a couple of times from various situations... and she had been her friend.

"There's no way she's dead. No way! She posed for those pictures, Max. I know it…" Chloe said, still trying to convince herself, as she hopped in the driver seat and started the truck, while Max climbed into the passenger seat. The desperation in the punk-girls' voice only added to the growing dread in the rocker-gals' stomach. She felt sick.

It took them only a short while to reach the junkyard, as the punk-girl was driving full speed. It took them an even shorter while to reach the spot they had seen on the picture, as they ran from all the way from where they had left the truck to that place at break-neck speed. Without even uttering a word they started to dig with their bare hands, as both of their minds raced. And both of their hopes were crushed, when inch by inch they dug deeper and finally revealed what appeared to be a plastic bag.

"Please, no…" The young punk sat back, her hands falling by her sides as she watched in horror, when the woman before her tugged the plastic bag away from the object it was covering. The smell that erupted was pungent and overwhelming. "Rachel… Oh, Rachel, no, no! Please, not her!" It was as if something had been shattered in Chloe's mind and heart, when she saw what was beneath the fabric of the plastic bag. Her mind went blank and she barely registered that she actually stumbled away from the hole in the ground just to fall to her knees and throw up only a few feet away. Tears were blurring her vision. It was hard to breathe. "Rachel… why?" She didn't even notice, when the shorter woman with the nose-piercing came to her side and embraced her, holding her steady and letting her cry on her shoulder. She didn't notice the tears or the look on her friends' face. "I loved her so much… How can she be dead? What kind of world does this? Who does this?" She hadn't noticed how she beat on the Max's chest with her fists until the rocker with brown-red hair crushed her in a tight hug. Only now she allowed herself to hug back the woman in front of her, as she reached around and her hands practically clawed at the rocker-gals' back, desperately seeking something to hold on to.

She didn't notice how her friend stayed silent and still for the whole time they sat there, nor did she notice how the smaller woman practically heaved her up in her arms, like she had done the night before and carried her all the way back to the truck and helped her into the passengers' seat buckling the safety-belt and going back to the place they had found the missing girls' corpse. She didn't notice when the other woman returned and got into the drivers' seat and started the engine… Everything was a blur…

It took her mind some time to notice that she was actually back in her room, when she finally woke up from the sleep she had fallen into – exhausted from the crying and the grief. She propped herself up on one arm and took a look around the room. The rocker-gal was not there and for a split-second Chloe's mind allowed her the false hope that it all had been a nightmare, but a look on the card-board and her desk shattered this hope, as all the evidence and proof they had gathered was still there. Fresh tears came to her eyes.

The opening of the door to her room startled her a bit, but she somewhat calmed, when the one who entered was the young woman with the black nose-piercing, holding two mugs of steaming hot chocolate. For a moment their eyes met and it was as if the normally confident rocker-gal didn't know how to react. But then that moment was gone and the shorter woman closed the door with the heel of her foot and crossed the room to sit on Chloe's bed right next to the punk-girl.

She didn't say anything; just put down the mugs on the small bedside table and cradled the blue-nette in her arms, when the slightly older woman set up completely and turned to her. It was only after some time that she loosened the embrace, so that she could look the blue-haired punk in the eyes.

"We have to get going, Chloe." It was only now that the punk-girl noticed how red her friends' eyes were, or the look on her face. She looked like Chloe felt – like something inside her had been deeply and maybe irreversibly broken… or had been taken away from her. "It's already night." She added as if that would explain what she was thinking. Though, in a sense it did. It was night and that meant that the Vortex Club party was in full swing right now.

They actually left the hot chocolate there on the bedside table as it took Chloe only a couple of minutes to get her boots back on, which she didn't remember to have taken off and to grab a few things from the room, before they went down the stairs and locked the house as they left. By the time they reached the campus grounds she was seething with rage and hate for the young Prescott. Still, despite the situation they were in right now, Chloe couldn't help but muse over her friend, who seemed calm, but was behaving a little bit strangely…

"I hope Nathan enjoys his last party." The blue-haired girl said with venom in her voice, when they finally had parked her truck in the parking-lot of the Academy. "Rachel wanted us to find her. So that we could get real justice… and revenge. The Prescotts have had this coming for a hundred years, and nobody is going to get in my way." She knew she was talking herself into another burst of rage, but right now she didn't care. How could she even care for something like that after what she had seen and discovered today? "Especially with your help… right?" This was the first time she addressed the brown-red haired woman next to her since they left the house. Frankly speaking, it somewhat worried her that the young woman sitting in the passengers' seat had remained silent throughout the whole drive to Blackwell. She sure could understand if it was due to them finding a corpse and the corpse of her best friend and the woman she had loved for many years at that. Hell, she herself knew she was not thinking clearly, but still - she couldn't shake off the feeling that something was really off.

"I'm with you to the end, Chloe. You know that." The rocker-gal said as they got out of the car and started to walk towards the party-area. It was only, when a drunken couple of party-goers started to talk loudly about this evening being like the eclipse before that Max turned to see what they were pointing at, as her gut-feeling was compelling her to do so. She regretted it instantly.

One would have assumed that the two moons would be the thing that shook her up, but it wasn't, for there it was again – fluttering in the pale light of the strange two moons – a blue butterfly.

Ripping her eyes from the accursed insect she started to run after her friend, who seemed not to have noticed, neither what the party-goers had been talking about, nor that she had left Max standing behind.

"Chloe, listen, I have a really bad feeling about this. Something major is going down here. I-" The rocker-girl with the nose-piercing started, when she finally caught up with the taller woman, but whatever she had intended to say was cut off, when a familiar, but visibly drunk nerdy guy stumbled towards them.

"Welcome to the end of the world, ladies. I'm glad you decided to escort me…" Warren slurred, gesturing at them both, before placing a hand on Max's shoulder.

"Warren, I warn you – I don't have the fucking time for this right now and if you don't want to get hurt – back the fuck off." The sudden explosion of anger in the shorter woman's voice made the blue-nette turn towards her friend. The look on the young man's face told her that it was definitely not what he had expected or hoped for either, but he seemed to be too drunk to fully comprehend what was happening and so his hand stayed on the rocker-girl's shoulder. "Chloe, let's go." Max said as she brushed Warrens' hand from her shoulder and pushed past him.

"Hey, hey… I know this is a bad time, but can I get one picture?" The young man reached out towards the shorter of the two women again. "I've been feeling like this might be actually the end of the world, so… I want to have something for prosperity. I know I'm a pain in the ass, but just one picture?"

"We got no time for this shit. Unless you have seen Nathan and can tell me where he is right now – fuck off." The tone of Max's voice made the nerdy young man instantly retract his hand and back off a few feet.

"Whoa… Easy there, Max. I just wanted a picture with the hero after all the ultra-violence this week, you know? Normally it's me who gets his ass kicked and I did already this week…" He said trying not to spill his drink as he put up his hands before him in a placating gesture. "Sheesh… And no, haven't seen Nathan since you beat him bloody."

"Listen, Warren, I'm sorry, but I really don't have time right now." Max replied trying to regain some composure. "If you see Nathan, text me immediately, ok? Bastard has it coming for him."

"I will, and I won't let him see me – I know how to be invisible here…" Even if the rocker-gal's answer had been everything but kind, it still cheered the young man up as he went to wherever he had been heading in the first place.

"Okay, Chloe, now-" Max started again turning to where her friend had been just a moment ago only to find that she had left already. Immediately dread and anger started to war over dominance in her mind as she rushed towards the entrance of the party-area, all the while cursing under her breath. ' _For fucks sake! You have to be fucking kidding me! Where the hell are you, Chloe?_ '

It was not hard to get into the party-area, which actually was the pool-house, as the few half-way sober guys standing by the door had not even the slightest intention of getting in the way of the visibly enraged rocker. The rumours and the few known facts about how she could deal with anyone standing in her way seemed to have been solidified by the tale of her beating Nathan to a pulp, as it had spread among the students of the Blackwell Academy like wildfire. The red, dim light in at the entrance somewhat irritated Max's eyes, but she had no time to let this hold her back – it was the second time in one day, where she had seen that damned butterfly and that could mean only that something terrible was going to happen to either herself or Chloe. The thought alone and the memories of what they had found and found out today made her gut twist into knots, but hell be damned if she'd let fear rule over her now.

"Have you seen Nathan?" She asked harshly, when she came up to the stand, where a few students were guarding some of the belongings of the party-goers that had left them behind.

"Hey, Max! No, thank God. That boy creeps me out…" One of the girls standing at the desk replied. ' _What was her name again? Stella?_ ' Max mused, not that she really cared. Not now at least. "Wait, some girl just asked about Nathan before you came in."

"What girl? Chloe? Where is she?" She hadn't intended to slam her fist on the table, but her anger got the better of her.

"Dunno. She had blue hair, dressed like a punk… Saw her putting up those Rachel Amber posters around the campus some time." The slightly frightened girl offered. "But I don't know where she is. I'm stuck here behind the desk, can't help you."

"Damn it! Fine! Tell me if you see her or Nathan." With that she left the other woman and headed for the main area of the party. The music was terrible, but then again – it was typical party music and thus nothing really outstanding or good. ' _Guess nobody here's really into metal…_ ' A small voice in the rocker-gals' mind noted the thought as she made her way through the crowd of students searching for her blue-haired friend. ' _Dress codes, VIP section… What a load of bull!_ ' A more angry voice in her head intoned, when she had searched nearly every inch of the main area of the party without finding her friend. ' _Fuck it! Let's see if we get lucky with door number VIP-lounge._ '

"Yo, dude! You can't just waltz in there. This is a VIP-section. If your name's not on the list – you can walk right back the way you came from." A guy from the rugby team, who was standing guard before the section for the 'special guests', announced as the rocker-gal came to stand face to face with him.

"Look, DUDE! You either step aside or you can start to pick up your teeth from the ground in the next ten seconds, got it?" The volume of the music was loud enough here that Max actually had to raise her voice quite a bit to be heard, but she didn't mind that – actually it helped her went some of the rage.

"Whoa, damn, chill! Hey, Stacy! Is this girl on the list?" The bouncer asked a young woman, who was sitting behind a desk right next to the entrance to the VIP-lounge.

"Sorry, but this is the VIP section. Members only. And I know that Max Caulfield is not on any list for the Vortex Club. Mmm-kay?" The girl replied in an annoyed tone, clearly not happy to be stuck behind the desk, when there was a party going on.

"There you have it. Can't let you through. Sorry." The young man turned to the rocker with brown-red hair apologetically, but remained firmly standing where he was, either not knowing with whom he was dealing or not caring. ' _His own fucking fault then!_ ' Max had nothing really against the young man, but right now – woe those that would stand in her way.

With a lightning-fast spinning kick to his knees the rocker-girl sent the much taller tumbling to the ground. Another vicious kick to the bouncers' stomach made him curl up in a fetal position. The girl at the desk yelped and scrambled away from the scene, probably to get help, but Max seriously didn't care right now. Yeah, she might be in trouble come day-break but to hell with all of that. Something horrible was going to happen – she just couldn't shake off that feeling and right now that meant that her one friend she felt so deeply about was her top priority – screw the rest of the world.

"Don't say I didn't fucking warn you!" This time it was just the pure rage and helpless anger that made her kick the young man just for good measure, before she brushed aside the curtain and entered the VIP section.

"M-Max?" A slightly trembling, familiar voice from her left made her turn sharply. It was nobody else than Victoria Chase herself that was standing before her. "What are you doing here?"

* * *

-Bach – G Minor-

* * *

"Listen, Max, I want you to know, that I'm really sorry. I truly am. I never wanted for something like this to happen!" The young blonde started, visibly distraught by seeing the enraged rocker with the black nose-piercing here at the party. "All I wanted was to win the contest, but I wanted her no harm. I swear!"

"What the fuck are you talking about?" It was only now that the girl with brown-red hair fully registered that the woman in front of her was actually talking to her. It was also only now that she fully registered who the girl before her was. "The fuck do you want?" She unintentionally made a step towards the blonde with the short-cut hair, who seemed to be frozen in place.

"I-I…" Victoria started again, staring wide-eyed at the shorter woman in front of her. "I'm sorry about what happened to Kate and what I did… But there was no reason to beat Nathan like that!" She seemed to slightly regain her composure and furrowed her brows. "I know he has issues and he takes some serious meds, but he still is like one of my best friends. It's not his fault and he's going through a lot… His family is treating him like a total freak, just because he has some little meltdowns… And as a friend, I just can't ignore what you did!"

"What I did?" Max nearly yelled. Only the frightened yelp of the blonde girl brought some sense back to her. She hadn't noticed how she had grabbed her by the collar. She couldn't find Chloe, she couldn't find Nathan, she was getting more and more agitated by the minute and felt like crawling out of her skin. She was angry at herself and frightened by what may come. The image of the blue butterfly was still fresh on her mind. She hadn't wanted to roughen up the jock / bouncer; she hadn't intended to grab Victoria by her shirt. This was getting out of hand fast. ' _I have to resolve this fast and find Chloe._ ' The rocker-gal thought as the uneasiness she felt twisted her guts again.

"Listen up, Queen-bitch, for I'm going to say this only once." The woman with the brown-red hair said locking her eyes on Victoria's, pulling her close enough that their faces were only inches away and she didn't have to raise her voice. "Those little meltdowns? They're not little anymore. They are deadly. Nathan pulled a gun on me and nearly did kill Chloe. He drugged Kate and did something to her enough to make her want to die. And for all I know – you are supposed to be next. I don't give a shit about if you hate me and you have still a lot coming for what Kate had to live through, but you don't deserve to end up like that. So if your life is dear to you – stay the hell away from him for the time being and stick to your cronies or other 'friends' that you might have." Max could practically see the cogs and wheels turning in the other woman's head as something like realisation and sadness washed over her eyes.

"I… I don't hate you, Max." The blonde with the short hair said quietly and the rocker-girl with the nose-piercing had to strain her ears to hear the young woman over the music in the background. "You beat be for mistreating your friend and I deserved it… I was a total asshole towards Kate, 'cause I thought I knew how this world of artists' works, but I was wrong. I let my self-consciousness rule over me and gave her a hard time, because I was jealous and wanted someone to feel as miserable as myself… I really did something horrible to Kate and I don't know if I ever will be able to make up for it. I don't even know if Kate will be able to forgive me…" The young blonde fell silent for a minute and stared at her own feet before she spoke up again, not raising her eyes. "To be honest, Nathan has been freaking me out lately. He's not here and I haven't seen him since the last time I checked on him after you beat him… I have other people to go to for protection..." She looked up and if she would be able to care right now – Max might have noticed the sincere tone in the other woman's voice, but she didn't care and she didn't notice – she had other things to worry about. She was already about to turn and continue the search for her blue-haired friend, when she felt Victoria grab her hand prompting her to turn to the other woman with a vicious scowl on her face. The blonde girl with the beige-black costume seemed to struggle for words, while the rocker-girl yanked her hand free, but before Max could turn again Victoria spoke up.

"Thank you for telling me this, Max…" She began and tried not to look frightened by the expression on the other girls' face. "And despite everything or maybe because of it - I actually think you're one of the coolest people at Blackwell…" ' _Ok, now this is getting kinda weird…_ ' The rocker-gal thought taking a slight step back. "You don't give a shit about what people think, and I do. You're strong and don't let anything dictate what to do or what to think… And, uhm, if what you say is really true – take care too… if you need anything – just text me."

"Uh… yeah…" Max said, before she finally turned and walked away from the blonde girl. She had seen different 'Victoria's' in the various 'pasts' and 'present', but the fact that this strange situation had resolved itself by showing the rocker-gal that this Victoria actually _did_ have some of the qualities that had made them friends in other timelines, had sent her thoughts for a slight tumble.

As she was walking and still taking a look the place if by any chance she'd see the young Prescott, a glimpse of blue-hair caught her attention. Without a second thought she bound towards her friend who had just come out of one of the party rooms with a deep scowl on her face.

"There you are!" She didn't know if she wanted to slap the girl in front of her or hug her, so she decided on just telling her what she knew. "Nathan isn't here, Chloe. Nobody has seen him tonight." The punk-girl seemed not to notice the look on Max's face and continued to stare daggers at everyone.

"He's definitely not upstairs or in the lockers." The punk with the blue hair commented. "The bastard is probably hiding in his dorm… Come on, Max. Let's bail. Nathan can't hide anymore." But just as they turned to go and leave, another person stepped in their way.

"So you made it, Max." It was the photography teacher.

"Not again. The hell is wrong today? The fuck do you want?" This time Max was yelling, but due to the volume of music she might have as well said it normally, for she hardly could hear her own voice. She felt like the fuse in her head had become shorter and shorter over the last few days and right now was not the time for anybody to get in her way.

"Hey, hey! Easy there. I'm just here for the announcement of the winner of the competition." The older man said stepping back a little, with a slightly worried expression on his face. "Um… are you both okay? You look like you're on a mission…"

"I'm looking for Nathan. There you have it. Happy now? Can you finally move?" The rocker-girl replied dismissively. Having to deal with Jeffer-creep was the last thing she wanted to do right now.

"Aha. I didn't know you were pals with him. I haven't seen him since this afternoon…" The teacher said with a slightly bemused expression as if he'd made a joke only he understood. "He seemed pretty upset. I think he's still quite upset over the whole Kate situation… but sorry, seems like we'll have to continue our little chat later, Max. I have to announce the winner of the contest in a few minutes. I do wish you'd have competed. You have to build up that resume and portfolio, but I know you will." He gave them a small smile and excused himself as he walked past them.

"Let's get the hell outta here, Chloe." The rocker-girl said as she gave her friend a slight push to get her moving. Still, she couldn't supress a shiver from running down her spine. Something was bloody fucking not alright… She didn't really pay it any mind as the teacher announced that Victoria Chase had won the contest or to whom the girl dedicated her prize.

They were already half-way to the boys' dormitories, when suddenly Chloe's phone buzzed indicating that she had received a message. At first the punk-girl hadn't wanted to look who it was, but when it buzzed again shortly afterwards, she did stop to look at it. As she flew over the short messages, she could feel herself grow pale. Immediately the shorter woman beside her noticed it and inquired about what was going on.

"Nathan just texted me. He says there won't be any evidence left after he's done." The blue-nette could hardly believe that the young Prescott had found out about what they were after or had been doing so quickly, but right now was not the time to worry about that. "Shit, Max, we have to go to the junkyard right now!" She started to run towards the direction of the parking lot.

"Chloe, wait! Something is seriously not right. I-" The slightly younger woman said, but couldn't finish her sentence as the blue-haired punk was already out of earshot and increasing the distance between them fast. "Goddamn it!" She cursed in frustration before bounding after her friend.

"Chloe, listen, something doesn't feel right!" Max repeated the umpteenth time as they walked through the dark and abandoned junkyard. She had explained to her best friend that the message she had received was nothing like what she herself had received from Nathan or that they had gathered enough evidence and proof to get the young Prescott even if her would do something right now, but to no avail. "If you're not going to listen to me, at least stop stomping around!" The rocker-gal couldn't explain why, but the whole situation put her teeth on edge. The whole day had been one punch to the gut after another, but something right here, right now felt more out of place than anything. Still, she couldn't put her finger on it – at least not completely, as she did have a guess though.

"Right. Just get ready to use your rewind fast if Nathan tries to jump us." The blue-nette conceded as they came ever closer to the spot they had found Rachel's body. "God I want to kill that little psycho…" Max didn't respond to that. She felt like someone was watching them and for some reason her head was starting to hurt. It was hard to concentrate. Disregarding her own earlier statement Chloe ran the last couple of meters to the shallow grave dropping the light she was holding to the ground and started to claw at the earth.

"Oh God, Max, look… She's still there." The punk-girl chocked up again as the plastic bag came into view. She hadn't noticed that the shorter woman had stayed behind a little and had positioned herself so that if someone had been indeed following them – she'd be able to jump that person.

It was just as the rocker-gal had convinced herself that it was probably safe enough to come out of the dark corner she was standing in, when she felt a slight brush on her right shoulder. Without a moments' hesitation she turned to kick whoever was there, as all her instincts screamed – this was a live or die situation. Her kick connected but the odd angle and the timing were off. She lost her balance and just as she was about to regain her footing she felt a sharp sting a little above her collarbone as someone stabbed her with something like a needle. With increasing panic the rocker-girl with brown-red hair felt that she was losing consciousness, but still her body moved on – the muscle memory still worked a bit longer. She tried to reach out to her 'power' too, but to no avail – the haze was blocking out everything and her vision was starting to blur.

"Chloe! Look out!" Max managed a half-shout, but it was hardly necessary as the commotion of her nearly fruitless struggle had alarmed the blue-haired woman already.

"What the fuck?!" She heard her friend shout in disbelief as she levelled the gun at the unknown attacker. With the last reserves of her willpower the rocker-gal managed to kick out again in the general direction of where she suspected the attacker was standing. She felt her feeble kick connect, but if it had done any good – the scenery before her eyes didn't show it. A gun went off and the woman she loved was hurled backwards as the bullet penetrated her body. By the time the punk-girls unmoving body hit the ground Max couldn't even move a muscle anymore. She was barely conscious as she muttered her best friends' name one last time before the darkness settled on her mind and vision. She didn't notice how she was carelessly heaved up and dragged into a car. She didn't register where they were taking her. She didn't even know if her best friend was dead. And she didn't see the wicked and slightly triumphant smile on the face of the man she had suspected and despised for a long time now. She didn't hear when the photography teacher from the Blackwell Academy started to hum in a low voice to the tune of the piece of classical music that was currently playing on the radio…

"You were always the feisty one, weren't you, Max?" The older man leered as he turned the car into the drive way of an old farmstead. "But you do have an eye for observation. So now show me if you have an equally great talent for listening." He didn't really care that the girl didn't respond. Well, how could she – she was practically out cold. Still he allowed himself to indulge on the subject a bit more. "Wouldn't you say that Bach's piano concerto in G Minor perfectly underscores your failure and my triumph?"

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **Hey, guys and gals. I'm sorry that this latest (and one of the shortest) chapter is bing published so late. Again. (no pun intended this time) Work is hell on earth right now and the little time I have for myself, when I get home is mostly spent on just crashing on the bed and sleeping 'till the morning. I'm really sorry if the quallity of the content has dropped (at least I do believe so, myself), but I hope you can still enjoy it. I hope that I'll get the next one up by next saturday as work should be getting a teeny-tiny bit easier by that time. Still, I beg of you not to hold too great of a grudge on me if I don't manage it.  
**

 **With that said - cheers and have a great day and rest of the week ;)!**

 **Yours,**

 **Bovragor**


	11. Chapter 11

**WARNING:**

 **All characters and the story upon which this fanfiction is based are property of Dontnod Entertainment and Square Enix. I don't own anything.**

 **As this is my first story to be published here, I will be happy about every reviews - both good and bad as only so I can know what I have to improve. :)**

 **Rated M for crude and strong language at times, violence and mature content.**

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\- Serial Killer-

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The first thing her mind vaguely registered when she finally opened her eyes and glanced at the room around was that she actually couldn't move her hands or feet. Somebody had used duct-tape in several layers to keep her from getting up from a chair that was placed in a rather familiar looking room. Then it came to her in a rush. The creepy bunker they had found, the body of the long-dead Rachel Amber, the Vortex Club party, the junkyard… Jefferson had attacked them… a memory of him standing over her popped up in her mind and then there was one other thing – the most important thing to her - Chloe… ' _Chloe! Oh God! Where is Chloe? What has happened? No! No!_ ' her mind screamed in agony as somehow the memories started to fall and twist into place. Something was keeping her from focusing and at the same time it felt like she was more focused than ever. ' _Wait! This is that fucking place! The Dark Room?_ ' The second thing her mind registered was the music that was playing in the background, at first there were some classical pieces, but then the track changed and instead came a tune she recognised – 'In a house, in a heartbeat' by John Murphy. The third thing she registered was that she had been stripped nearly naked, as she was sitting on the chair with only her bra, jeans and boots on.

"What the fuck? _"_ The rocker-girl muttered at first, her mind a warzone and in utter disarray over what had happened, as she strained her arms and legs trying to break free somehow. "What the actual fuck?!" She yelled, trying harder but failing to get her limbs free nonetheless. On the third try it happened then. With, what seemed to her dazed consciousness, an effort of titanic proportions she managed to get her right foot free. She strained to get the other one free as well, but her left foot seemed to be taped with more care to hold it into place.

Slumping slightly back into the chair, the still half-dazed rocker with brown-red hair took a new look around the room. A camera had been placed right in front of her. Next to it was a trolley with various tools on it – plastic gloves, syringes, something that looked like sedatives and a brand new red binder. Despite the odd angle and the restrains she somehow managed to pull the trolley towards her, by hooking her free foot behind one of its wheels. The photo she saw lying on it depicted her lying on the ground in the very same position as she had seen Kate and Rachel being placed there in the binders they had checked earlier. This shot however was somewhat of a close-up. Just looking at it brought a new pang of pain to her head, as memories of what she had lived through in this and other timelines blurred for a moment, forcing her to relive some of the most traumatic events of her young adolescent life. And with the memories came the rage… She trashed in her seat, but couldn't get her hands or her other foot free.

' _I'm going to skin that fucking bastard alive!_ ' She thought as she tried to prevent herself from falling into panic with mixed results. For a moment her gaze lingered on the photo on the trolley, but this gave her an idea. ' _No. Strip the flesh and salt the wound – that's what I'm gonna do._ ' She concentrated on the black and white picture and for a split-second Max could have sworn to hear the photography teachers' voice faintly as her vision grew dim. ' _Oh, this is just bloody glorious!_ ' The rocker-gal focused again and this time she succeeded – the voice grew louder and clearer, as her vision turned to white and then…

Then she was there – lying on the ground, with that creepy bastard trying out various angles and taking pictures of her, while muttering.

"This angle highlights your purity, you see?" The older man was kneeling down and snapping a few pictures, before straightening up again, making a few steps and doing the same thing again. "There is roughness in you, but it's all a cover, a shield for your delicate soul, that still has retained its glow in this shut-in sanctity. The slightly unconscious model is often the most open and honest." The photography teacher droned on. "No vanity or posing, just… pure expression." It seemed he didn't mind or didn't care that he was talking to a girl that was basically unable to respond.

As her mind worked through the haze to discern anything that was said and to determine whether she was able to move a single muscle in her body other than her eyelids, she felt the sickening touch of the older man's hand on her leg as he adjusted it to his liking. She understood that she was lying on the ground on the same spot where she had been bound to a chair later. The fact that this creep was actually _moving_ her legs was only a dull, little speck of hope, as the mounting panic of not being able to move at all, as well as some of the gruesome memories of different 'pasts' and 'presents' she popping up in her head, were threatening to overwhelm her.

"Oh Christ… Look at that perfect face." Jeffer-creep breathed heavily as he lined up another shot. She didn't know how she had done it, but somehow the rocker-gal managed to move her head a little bit, as the numb feeling in her body still prevented her to establish if she was actually doing anything. Nearly immediately she felt a numb sting on her cheek and her head jerked backwards.

"Hold that stare there!" The man had just slapped her. "Stay still!" He practically screamed with anger heavily swaying in his voice. He lined up another shot.

It wasn't like she could do anything really, but the slap had brought not only some clarity to her dazed mind, but also ignited the burning rage in her heart and mind. Defiance and pure hatred took a hold of her as she again jerked her head a little just as the psychopathic teacher was taking the shot.

"Oh, Max! You fucked up my shot!" Mr Jefferson yelled in anger, but his tone nearly instantly changed to the oh-so-normal soothing voice he used in class. "But please don't worry. We have all the time in the world. For now." Somehow this much quieter tone managed to make the man appear even more menacing. "I knew you were special the second I saw your first 'selfie'…" He took a couple of pictures, before adding, as if more speaking to himself than her. "Yes, I still hate that word. But I love the purity of your own image. The scars and tattoos only help to highlight the wounded but unbroken spirit in you… Not like Rachel, who was always looking in the wrong places. Poor Rachel. Wait… Let me try this angle."

The girl with brown-red hair could tell by the movement of his feet and shadow, that by now he was standing over her. She tried to kick out at him, but to no avail. Still, it appeared that she had managed to move at least slightly, for again the man with the black glasses moved in to turn her slightly whilst snarling angrily at her not to move.

"Ah. Much… better. Thanks, Max." The photography teacher said almost tenderly as he tried out another angle and shot a couple more photos. "If only Nathan could see this setup." And now there was bemusement in his voice. Vile, silky bemusement, as if he had succeeded where others had failed. "He tried so hard, but you can't just throw a few subjects around and expect a cohesive style or theme… But he had an eye for shadows. And an eye for a whole lot more, as his elite family will find out… along with Arcadia Bay." He stepped in again and turned Max's head a little, still rambling on. "Nice… Good… Oh, those eyes… the intensity of your stare is giving me shivers!" Again he moved and the rocker-gal tried to follow his movements with his eyes, all the while trying to shake off the feeling of numb helplessness and to regain control over her muscles.

"It's just too bad you're so goddamn nosy, Max!" It seemed the psychotic man's mood was swinging constantly between enragement and something like ecstasy. "But this room is under 24/7 surveillance, so all I had to do was text you from Nathan's phone and you fell right into my hands." Again this slimy, sickening tone of pride entered the older man's voice. "You really should have focused on schoolwork… not 'private detecting' with your little friend."

Just as he was saying these last words the rocker with the black nose-piercing managed to regain some control over her body and tried to roll over onto her back. Her mind was racing, repeating only one word and one word only. ' _Chloe!_ '

"What was her name? Chloe? Something along the lines?" Mr Jefferson stood there for a while as if actually thinking about it, but the evil glint in his eyes betrayed the fact that he didn't. "Yeah, I'm sorry that I killed- that Nathan killed her in self-defence." He said with a sneer. "But she had a troubled history like most Arcadia Bay drop-outs… Nobody will be surprised, or care."

For a fraction of a moment their eyes met and despite the situation the teacher unintentionally took a step back. In this split-second there had been something in the eyes of the young woman. Something that made him slightly flinch. It was something he had not expected from one of his 'subjects'. Rachel had been defiant, but this girl here – she was of another calibre.

"I promise people will care when you die tonight, Max." He felt almost compelled to repeat it as if to reassure himself for some unknown reason. "I wasn't lying when I said you have a gift." He hunkered down again. This time around to make a close-up. "Okay. Now this looks good. Maybe a few more close-ups…"

Something felt like snapping inside her. Something that she probably wouldn't be able to mend afterwards. She tried to roll on her back again as the man had turned her before taking the close-ups and strained to reach for her power.

"Max, please do not move so much. I need you posed and framed my way!" The teacher said angrily as he stood up, clearly unsatisfied by the development of the photo-shoot. "Maybe a new dose will calm you down…" He said putting down the high-end camera and walking towards the trolley, before dragging it towards where the young rocker was lying.

"I will kill you." It was the first thing that the young woman had said over this whole time. It came out in a small, but steady and icily cold voice, prompting the older man to turn towards her.

The fact that she had managed to roll onto her back and was speaking to him were indications that the dose he had given her was clearly wearing off, but the calm and composed tone in which she had said, what she had just said, managed to somewhat unnerve him. This was so different from the other 'photo-shoots' he'd taken over the years.

"Now don't move, or thins will… hurt… much." He regained his composure quickly and but he couldn't deny that the look in the young woman's eyes and the surety of her statement were having at least some effect on him. He filled a syringe with the sedatives and was about to align the needle to Max's arm, when the rocker-girl kicked out and sent the trolley crashing into the desk. "Stupid bitch! You just don't listen, do you? In fact, you never did hear much in my class…" The teacher cried out in anger. "If you had, you might have seen all this coming. Goddamn, you are a fighter, though." He leaned in towards the young woman with brown-red hair and continued to speak in a more hushed tone. "I've had my eye on you, and I noticed that you've been more… aggressive and relentless this week than maybe your whole life…" Again there was this glare that gave him somewhat of a pause, but he moved in to give the young woman the sedatives anyways. "You should have remembered my number one rule – always take the shot." He said nonchalantly and then there was only the pitch-black nothingness and the numb feeling.

For one moment everything went white and then the rocker-gal jerked awake. She was still tied to the chair. Her breath came laboriously and her head felt like being split open. Something whimpered on her left and instinctively she turned to see where this whimper was coming from as her mind raced and started to paint all the possible scenarios. But nearly all of them were shattered, when she saw that the source of the pitiful noise was no other than Victoria Chase, who was lying on the ground – bound and dosed, just like she had been.

M-Max? Max? Can you hear me? Oh God, where are we? What's happening?" The young blonde whimpered in a trembling, barely audible voice, as tears were flowing down her cheeks. "I've been trying to wake you up for the last half-hour, but I can't move. Max, I can't move!" It was impossible not to hear the sound of utter panic in the young woman's voice. Only now did Max notice that despite Victoria being unable to control her body, she was slightly shivering and it was clear that it wasn't from the cold. It was pure fear.

"Shit! Goddamn that motherfucker!" Seeing the girl with short blonde hair lying there in that pitiful state just moments after experiencing this herself and being reminded of things far worse from the other 'pasts' and 'presents' that she had had to live through, was enough to bring nearly instant clarity of mind to the young rocker as somehow her anger pierced through the drug-induced haze. 'Hell, even if this Victoria is not the one I remember from the other timelines - she doesn't deserve to end up like this…' A voice in Max's head intoned as she took in the surroundings and the changes that her previous actions and rewinding had caused. "You've been drugged. Like Kate… and me. Do you remember how you got here?"

"No… I don't know…" Victoria chocked down a sob before she could answer. "Wait… You warned me. You warned me about Nathan… A-and I went to Mr Jefferson for help. He was acting so weird… That's the last thing I remember… Max, I can't move my hands! Please, Max, help me! I'm sorry for everything." She cried, but couldn't even draw breath normally as she was lying on a ground tightly bound.

"Listen carefully. Jeffer-shit is the one that kidnapped us. For all I know, he's using Nathan as well." The rocker-girl's voice was laden with unmasked rage, but somehow she managed to say it all rather calmly, but broke off as she was about to say the next sentence. She could feel the pain and rage tighten around her heart, like pitch-black darkness. "He… he killed Chloe… and seemingly Rachel too... I swear that I'll kill that fucker, but we have to get free before he comes back if we want to have a chance of leaving this place alive."

"Max… I just can't believe this is real. I don't want to die like this! I'm only 18!" The visibly shaken girl whimpered.

"I have a plan, but I am in the same position as you, which means we'll need to work together, if we want to get out of here." The rocker-gal said as she strained to get her arms and feet loose.

"Really? How? Max… I'm so scared. How are we supposed to do anything? I can't even move…" The young blonde didn't seem to calm down as despair grasped at her anew. "I can't move…" She repeated barely audibly, as if drifting off – not taking what was happening for the reality it was.

"We need to get loose somehow. I might have been dosed, but I can still break that fuckers' neck if I get my feet free. I'm not going to let that asshole walk away from this alive. Not after-" She caught herself midsentence as her head began to throb and a dull ache set in her chest. She took a slow, steadying breath to focus on the here and now. She couldn't let herself be overwhelmed by what she felt right now. "I need you to be strong. We need to act while we're clearheaded. If that shithead gets us again, we're as good as dead."

"But I'm not strong, Max! I'm pathetic and weak…I-" Victoria sobbed quietly. "I just can't believe this is happening… that Jefferson would do this to me… to us…"

"He is a sick, twisted dipshit!" The rocker with the brown-red hair replied, venom dripping from her voice. "But, we will find a way out of here. And if that happens to be over his bloody corpse – all the better. That I promise." And despite the situation Max's words seemed to somehow soothe the mind of the blonde woman, as she managed a weak smile and an ' _I believe you_ ', but this glimmer of hope lasted only so long and Max could already hear her start to cry again, muttering about what she had done to Kate and how she had no clue of what was going on, how cruel she had been to the innocent girl and how she might even deserve this fate.

There was something cold and dark in the young rocker's mind as she looked over the room again, but she supressed this feeling for now, as her eyes fell on a new picture that was lying on the trolley. It was depicting her sitting in the very same chair she was sitting in right now, with a vacant stare, as the picture was taken from an angle that would show her scars in another shade of red that apparently lit the room at the time the photo had been taken. It was nearly without thinking that she focussed on the picture before her, straining her powers to reach into the time, when the photo had been made. Again came the flash of white and again came the headache, though this time her vision cleared nearly instantly as she snapped out of the haze.

"I'm getting some spectacular images here, Max." The psychopathic photography teacher said as she adjusted the camera in front of her ever so slightly. "Yes, Victoria would kill to be in your place, but… she doesn't understand our… connection." Max's eyes fell on the still form of the dosed young woman lying bound on the sofa at the far end of the room, as the man droned on. "You're… the winner, Max. I choose you… your portrait."

"I will kill you." She repeated the exact same words she had said earlier, or had she said it? Was this the same timeline? She felt a slight throb in her head, but didn't pay it any mind. Seeing the man again had been enough trigger all the memories to float up in her mind again. And if before her statement had taken the man aback somewhat, this time she could have sworn that a nervous look shot over his face, but if it had she couldn't be sure as the light was making it hard to look in the direction, where the man stood.

"Oh, but you are trying too hard, Max." The smug, self-absorbed tone returned to the man's voice. "I know you're scared… You don't have the same doe-eyed look, when you woke up here as the others, but I see the façade for what it is. And I see how it is replaced by fear as you realize what's about to happen." He sneered at the young woman. "You see, simply put, I'm obsessed with the idea of capturing that moment innocence evolves into corruption." The photography teacher droned on as he stepped closer and came to hunker down on one knee before the bound woman with brown-red hair. "Of course in your case it's even more fascinating, as you try to hide who you really are behind that mask of rebelliousness and rock attitude. This shift from black to white to grey… and beyond. And despite all, you are not like the most models, which tend to become cynical and lose that naiveté. Like some other Blackwell students, you carry a certain hope and optimism with yourself like… an aura. Just like those lucky few you have become my model… my subject." He was so self-absorbed that he didn't seem to notice how the rocker with the nose-piercing strained against the restrains on her feet and arms. "And nobody will know what has happened to you as they don't know what is happening to you right now. As you can see, Sleeping Beauty here is too harsh for my gentle lens… And don't get me started on your late partner…" The older man said in an annoyed and disinterested tone, as he stepped away from the bound woman to stand next to his camera again. "I had enough of those faux-punk sluts in my Seattle days." He added in a voice that would say 'ew, I stepped into shit'.

"You killed Chloe… You murdered my best friend." Again the rocker with short brown-red hair had a feeling like something in her was about to snap, as she said the words. She strained against the tape that was holding her down on the chair.

"She had a loaded weapon. This was clearly self-defence." The teacher said as if what he'd done was the most normal thing in the world. "But that's what happens when you play with guns… or try to fuck with me. Though I have to admit – your little ambush surprised me there. Had I not been a better shot or more careful, I might have missed and that would have been a real mess, if I'd had to shoot my intended model." The tone of his voice changed from serious to amused and back to a mixture of menace and self-righteousness. "It's better when they don't know… like pure, sweet Kate."

"Before all of this is over, I will cut out your tongue. I hate to hear your voice and it would be bothersome if you'd scream all the time, while I break your bones." There was ice cold menace in the young woman's voice and somehow the teacher got the notion that were she free right now, she'd do exactly that. But, alas, she wasn't and so he had no qualms to tease the bound girl a bit more.

"Oh, but you might as well savour it, considering it's the last you'll hear. Oh… paint me surprised, but you do seem oh-so-calm, but I can still tell, when you grow pale in this light." Jefferson sneered and stifled a laugh. "Too bad you already made a convincing argument against Nathan in the Principal's office. Thank you so much, for setting him up for me. I know the Prescotts are going to have a major scandal when the town finds out what their elite son has been doing for homework…"

"You used Nathan. You used that little fuckturd to do your dirty job." This time it was not the tone of the young girls' voice that gave the man pause, but the glint in her eyes. It was as if she couldn't care less for the young man, who had drugged her friend.

"I prefer the term 'manipulated'. Like with an image… and I have to admit, Nathan's was easy to twist around." ' _Talk about sounding perverse._ ' A voice in Max's head intoned and the rocker-gal couldn't help but sneer at the man standing before her. "I became a sort of father figure for Nathan. It happens often in teacher/student relationships. It was kind of touching for a while."

"Did you even tell him what your plans were at Blackhell, you shit-freak?" The aggressiveness in Max's voice prompted the teacher to cock an eyebrow.

"Don't be stupid, Max. I told him what he needed to hear and in return – voila – I was granted access to the Prescott fortune." He smiled smugly, gesturing around the room with a hand. "Who do you think paid for this glorious dark room and equipment? How else could I get all these hip new drugs for my subjects?"

"Yeah, right! Rachel Amber was your victim, not your 'subject' you twisted bastard." Somehow the rocker-gal had managed to calm her voice, but the hate she felt for the man standing in front of her was burning ever the stronger.

"Oh… Rachel Amber…" The teacher muttered, but if he felt any remorse or sadness his voice or tone didn't betray anything. "That's the real tragedy. Nathan thought he could be an artist like me… Instead, the dumbass gave her an overdose."

"You killed them both… Chloe and Rachel…" The cold fury welling up in the rocker-girl with the brown-red hair was swinging heavy in her voice.

"I'm sure they're fucking together in heaven right now. Happy? Is that what you want to hear?" Spat the psychopathic man in a tone that indicated his disinterest in the lives of the two murdered women. "To be frank – I don't care about that dumb cunt in the least bit. Rachel is dead, but you shouldn't shed any tears. Los Angeles would have killed her anyway. You should actually look at this as a favour." For a short moment the smug expression was back on the man's face, before being replaced by that of nonchalance and disinterest again, when the only reaction he could seemingly trigger from the woman in front of him was a glint of pure hatred in her eyes. "Oh, I see. You think me as the evil one, but we're not so different really. You almost beat Nathan to death. Judging by the way he was having trouble breathing I'd even go as far as betting that you broke at least four of his ribs… It's just too bad he fell in lust with Rachel. He actually thought he could mimic what I do with a camera and subject." The photography teacher droned on, but there was anger in his voice now. "Like father, but not like son…"

"Where is Nathan now?" The rocker-gal asked, though she already could guess by Jeffer-fucks' tone.

"Dead and buried. After what he did to Rachel, I knew I couldn't keep him as a protégé for much longer." The man replied with a shrug. "Now the police will never find his body… Do you finally get it now, Max? I can't compromise my vision with amateurs."

"Says the fucking king-freak of amateurs. Don't make me laugh. Look at the trail of death you left behind." The young girl with brown-red hair shot back with a disdainful glare. "You can't blame all that on Nathan, though I don't really care about that. You're going to die a painful death by my hands, motherfucker. I want you to know that. For Chloe, for Rachel and everybody else."

"I do love your spirit, Max, but you brought yourself here, by your own choice." Jefferson waved a hand in her direction in an annoyed manner. "Anyway, I like my models to be seen and not heard… So I have to make sure that nothing is left behind of you." With that he began to mutter more to himself again, not paying really any mind to the young woman with the nose-piercing, as he walked over to the camera. "Ok, now let's see how these shots came out… I understand why these instant cameras are appealing – you don't need a computer to print out your work. I think… our session was a career high for me."

"Work? Career high? You call that garbage work?" This time Max laughed with scorn, but there was something more in her voice, which the teacher couldn't really put a finger on. It sounded like… triumph? The mere thought of this enraged him for it meant that his work would have really been for naught – he had not been able to break the girl.

"Garbage?! How dare you call MY art garbage? You, whose talent is squandered on useless bullshit like these stupid selfies in your diary? You stupid cunt!" He nearly yelled at the barely clad woman as he threw the girls' diary ungraciously on the ground before her. "Look at that shot, Max! You could do so much better than that, but this is just filth!" With an abrupt turn he walked off towards the printer to see if the photos he'd made had already developed, furious about the impunity this young woman had shown in the face of a greater master of this art than she'll ever be. How could she not see this?

But the rocker with the nose-piercing this was exactly what she had wanted. As soon as he'd started talking she had tried and strained not only against the tape binding her to the chair, but also against the drug-induced haze in her mind, and it had worked. She could use her power again. With the fourth try at the end of their conversation she had go the result and reaction from the psychopathic teacher that she had hoped for. As the diary fell to the ground a page flew open containing a picture. A copy of a particular picture that she had taken just at the beginning of this crazy week. She focused on it and before the unsuspecting teacher could even reach down to turn on the electricity to the printer everything went white.

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\- Rose-

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"Now, Max, as you clearly have interest to join our conversation on the history of portraits after capturing our interest in such a manner, could you please tell us the name of the process that gave birth to the first self-portraits?" The teacher answered in the same annoyed voice as he had done before at the beginning of the week. ' _I'm right here again. At the bloody fucking start of this damned week!_ ' she thought, but the sound of the teachers' voice alone was enough to trigger the memories of what now was only one of the possible 'pasts' or 'presents'. For a moment it was like blind rage would take control over her, but she couldn't let it slip. Not now, for she knew this was not a 'complete past' or a 'complete present'. It was just her gut-feeling, but she knew it to be true, for parts of her vision or 'memory' about the layout of the classroom and other smaller details were blurred and as a result they appeared to be blurred in this 'here and now' too. It felt like she was somewhere between the 'here and now' or the various 'pasts' and 'presents'.

"I'm not really into 'capturing' your interest. That's kind of sick, isn't it? But let me ask you a counter question. Have you ever heard the term 'one shouldn't disturb sleeping beasts'?" The question came out as a low growl, dripping with venom and had the teacher not known better, he'd say there was unbound hate in the young woman's eyes, like she'd know something or that something had happened to her.

"Uh… I guess somebody hasn't had their coffee… Do you want to try again?" He inquired, cocking an eyebrow at the girl with the strange glint in her eyes.

"You don't listen, do you?" There was a truly menacing smile on the young rockers' face at the moment she said this and for the first time in many years the man, who had become so self-confident and knew just how ingenious he was, felt something akin to fear. But his thoughts were interrupted, when the young woman with brown-red hair spoke up again. "Daguerreian Process and all that crap, right? Happy now? Or, did I break your concentration on obsessing about portraits? Please, do go on. It's so fascinating." The sarcasm in the young girl's voice was equally balancing with pure disdain and anger.

"I do not appreciate this tone, but let's… Let's move on, hmm? Um… Anyway…-" The teacher went on rambling about the named process until the bell rang, indicating that the lessons were over. Immediately most of the students grabbed their stuff and lest, just as they had before, and just as they had before, Max, Kate and Victoria remained along with the teacher, who was still trying to remind the already leaving students to hand in their pictures for the 'Everyday Heroes' contest.

' _Ok. First things first – let's try this approach._ ' The rocker-gal mused as she picked up her cell-phone and tipped in a quick, but concentrated message to a few people, of whom she knew that they wouldn't let the psychopathic teacher go on with his twisted 'photo sessions'. It was not necessarily what she had intended in the first place, but right now another thing was her main priority and that was her best friends' safety, even if that best friend didn't know anything about what had or would happen. She already could feel her head throbbing, something that was heralding the unbearable headache she'd get after this was over, but she ignored it. It was only now that she noticed the small droplets of blood on her desk. Her fingers came away bloody, when she touched her nose. ' _Fuck all of this shit! I don't care what happens to me, but I won't let anything happen to Chloe!_ ' Max thought, feeling the anger well up inside her again. He whipped the blood away. She was already heading for Victoria talking to the teacher, when a kinder voice in her head suggested another option that she should do before unleashing her fury on the young blonde woman at the teacher's desk.

"Hey, Bible-Kate!" This time around her voice had not the cheery tone that she'd used when she'd talked to the religious girl before, but a strong sound of determination and honesty.

"Oh, Max!" the girl weakly replied, the pained expression on her face was nearly enough to send the rocker-gal with the ever growing headache into a fit of rage, but she forced herself to calmly explain to the young girl before her what was on her mind.

"Listen, Kate. I know we haven't talked too much about this, but I want you to know that I'll always have your back. No matter what happens." She took a steadying breath, before she continued. "I know exactly how you feel right now, but where I was, there you are not. You are not alone. I care about you and so do many other people. We all care; we're all here for you. And if push comes to pull – I want you to know that I'll beat the living shit out of anyone that tries to harm you. You need to know that."

"Max… That- That makes me feel so blessed for the first time in this week… I… I don't know what to say…" The young woman said as tears started to run down her cheeks, an expression of thankfulness and slight relief on her face. "Can I-… Could I get a hug?" She asked somewhat shyly and for the first time on that day the rocker-girl caught herself chucking with joy.

"'f course you can, bible-girl." Max smiled as she embraced the other woman for a short but heartfelt hug.

"Thank you, Max. You always know the right thing to do." The religious girl said with a small smile on her face as she let go of the rocker and sat back on her chair again focussing on her studies, but this time with a more life-affirming look in her eyes.

But for Max this precious little moment of joy didn't last long. As soon as her eyes wandered over to the teacher talking to the young blonde with short hair the dull throbbing in her head returned with a greater intensity, making it nearly impossible to concentrate. She pinched the bridge of her nose and squeezed her eyes shut tightly for a moment hoping that it would help, but it didn't. She felt like a black fog would cloud her mind, partially blurring her vision. Still – there was no time for wishful thinking and hoping that this daze would go away. She had to press on.

"Oh, if it isn't Queen-bitch sucking up to Jeffer-shit here! Oh, my! What a perfect expression! Isn't that lovely?" The rocker-gal rudely stepped in between the young woman and the photography teacher whom she knew to be a psychopath. The stunned and shocked expression on Victoria's face quickly changed to one of annoyance and anger, but Jefferson, who leaned against his desk, seemed to be just annoyed.

"What the hell do you want, Max Caulfield? Can't you see I'm talking to Mr Jefferson now about my portfolio? If you had at least half the decency to listen to the valuable lessons in class your photos wouldn't be total trash." The angry young woman shot back.

"Yes, I see that. But maybe you shouldn't." Just standing in the presence of the teacher in question made her fingers twitch.

"Uh, and why exactly shouldn't I do it?" The young woman with the posh look crossed her arms before her chest. She was about to add something, but the older man beat her to the punch.

"Hold on, Victoria. Are you okay, Max? You seem awfully aggressive today… more so than normally…" He inquired with a voice that would suggest he cared for his students.

"I will be a little better when bitch-face here understands that hiding behind a screen, posting videos of people is incredibly cruel, immature and unfair." The rocker-girl with the brown-red hair said, her eyes still locked on the woman before her. "You are smart enough to know how easy it is to hurt somebody, to destroy their life. Now just for a moment humour me and think about how much it would hurt if somebody did that to you. Or even better, if somebody went even further – making your life a living nightmare, hm? Wouldn't that be great?" The venom in the young rocker's voice was an unmasked hint that even Victoria couldn't pretend not to have heard.

"You can always make the right choice, Victoria. I hate to admit it, but you've got a good heart." Max mellowed her tone somewhat as she went on. She held up a hand to stifle any protest or attempts for response from the girl with the short blonde hair. "You don't have to explain. There is no reason for you to be so insecure that you can't be happy with your own talent and have to make others feel miserable. Just think about it."

"Well, I don't know what you're talking about… Do I, Mr Jefferson?" The young woman with the posh clothes turned expectedly to the teacher, clearly unhappy with the turn of events.

"I think I should stay out of this one, Victoria." The man replied with a slightly apologetic look on his face.

"Then I guess I'm done talking." Said the blonde girl. The expression on her face was that of anger and disappointment.

"Great! So? What are you waiting for? Run along." Max flashed the girl with the wounded pride an evil smile before turning towards the teacher, not paying any mind to the woman that just left the classroom.

"That was kind of random, Max. What do you mean?" The teacher inquired, arching an eyebrow.

"Oh, wouldn't you love to know?" She said as she casually threw a picture on the table on a heap of photographs marked as entries to the 'Everyday Hero' contest. "Was this what you were after?" The picture showed Max from behind to the middle of her back, standing in just a bra, facing the wall of her room that was covered in various black or dark posters of metal and rock bands. One poster however stood out as it had more colour to it and had a text that read ' _Rose_ ' beneath the logo of the band 'A Perfect Circle'.

"Oh… That was easy." The man before her seemed slightly surprised and touched, despite the displayed rudeness of the rocker-gal. "Well, I- I can't pre-judge yet, but I'm very happy you decided to enter. That means a lot to me… and Blackwell. The first step for any artist is to put themselves out there in the world without fear. To be… innocent." There was the smug smile on his face that the rocker with brown-red hair had seen so many times before on this day. "Thanks, for the photo. Maybe both of us will be jet-setting to San Francisco this Friday."

"Oh, I highly doubt it." The cold fury in the rocker-girls' gut had finally wrestled control from her mind. She absentmindedly toyed with a pen she had snagged from the teacher's desk.

"Don't be so modest, Max. Anything can happen in a week…" The man replied, still smiling to himself. He was about to reach for the picture to take a closer look, when suddenly a sharp pain seared through his hand. In the shock of the moment he didn't even manage to scream, when with a violent tug the rocker with the nose-piercing ripped out the pen she just had embedded in his right hand.

"It's not about modesty." She spoke in a low, menacing voice that involuntarily sent a cold shiver down the older man's spine, as he clutched his bleeding hand, staring at the young woman in front of him with wide eyes. She looked as if her mind was drifting somewhere and she didn't really register what she was doing, but at the same time there was such clarity and hate in her eyes, that he couldn't really put a finger on. "I just wanted you to know that I'm going to break and kill you. And know what? Nobody will ever notice or wonder. Oh, and, please, be so kind and try to report this. That is – if you dare to."

There was glassiness in her eyes and he could see that her nose was bleeding; still, he was transfixed by the look in her eyes and then he bent over and collapsed to the ground, writhing in pain as without a warning or even a change in the expression on her face the young Muay Thai boxer kicked him viciously in the privates. Before turning away she stepped hard on the man's bleeding hand prompting him to let out a half-audible scream of pain.

"You shouldn't disturb sleeping beasts." She said over her shoulder as she walked towards the door. For a moment it seemed she'd be able to just walk out of the door, but then it happened again, just as it had happened back when she had tried to save the life of her best friends' father.

* * *

Max's vision blanked out and for a split second all turned white. Memories, again weirdly ordered as snapshots and pictures, rushed by, changing all the while before settling on something specific, but for some reason it all was blurry and too fast to focus on. The throbbing in her head was nearly too much to bear, but just as she thought she'd pass out, she snapped her eyes open.

"Whoa there! Are you feeling ok, Max?" It was principal Wells, who addressed her with some concern in his voice. It was only now that she noticed that she was clutching the armrest of the plane-seat with such force that her knuckles had gone white. Small black dots clouded her vision somewhat.

"Where are we? What's going on?" The young woman pressed her fingers against hr temples. ' _Where is Chloe? What is happening? Shit! I didn't retract the photo from Jefferson's desk!_ '

"Well, I can believe this is all quite exciting for you. Especially after what happened." The tone of his voice changed form a slightly worried, patronising one to a downright apologetic one. "Had I ever known what Mr Jefferson was in reality… I'm so terribly sorry for all you had to go through. It is brave of you to confront him like that. Your actions probably saved many, many more students from the clutches of that monster. Regrettably, it was too late for poor Rachel Amber, but I promise you, she will be remembered."

This triggered something and the memories of this new 'present' started to click in her head. She had saved Chloe, made a scene and had accused the photography teacher about molesting her. Just as the man had been about to state his side of the story, the police had burst into the principals' office and arrested him for murder, attempted rape, and other crimes. Somehow she had reconnected with Chloe and the two women had rekindled their friendship, although not on the high intensity level as before.

Sure, Chloe had been thrilled to get her old best friend back. They had gone through quite some quarrels and small-time adventures too, but with everything that had happened with Rachel, Chloe just wasn't truly there and Max couldn't bring herself to tell and burden the grieving blue-nette with her own feelings right now… Her own demons had plagued her too, but there was no way in hell that she'd let that rule her. Not, when it came to Chloe. The one she loved so much… Even if it was, for now, from a distance…

And then the jury of the 'Everyday Hero' contest had announced the winner. The rocker-gal had assumed it would have been Victoria, but to her surprise and dismay it had been her. A hastily planned trip to San Francisco had been organised by the Academy and now she was here on a plane, half dazed by everything.

' _This is so surreal! I shouldn't be here! I had not intended to be here! I have to be by Chloe's side!_ ' She thought with growing panic and uneasiness. Yes, she had saved her friend, but now was the time she needed to be a strong corner for the young punk-girl, not on her way to some fancy gallery in a different State.

As if on cue her cell-phone vibrated and made knocking noises, indicating that she had received a message. It was from Chloe.

'HOLY SHIT U RULE MAX! i am so proud of my superstar. this is just the start of your career' read the short message.

' _Shit! I just know that something is not right!_ ' She couldn't shake off the feeling of dread, regardless of how hard she tried. Her musing was however interrupted by the captain of the plane announcing the arrival to San Francisco.

Again the throbbing in her head returned and her vision clouded. She doubled over in her seat holding her head between her hands. She could hear the principal say something worriedly, but couldn't make out the words. Everything went white again.

* * *

And then reality returned with a snap of a camera.

She was standing in the Zeitgeist Gallery in San Francisco and somebody was shaking her hand. She jerked it back. The man in front of her, who had apparently been introducing himself to her, gave her an unsure, quizzical look.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have grabbed your hand like that. My name is Danny Lee and I'm with the Berkeley People's Herald. I edit their art section and I totally dig your work." The man decided to continue where he had seemingly left off. "Now, I know the whole 'ironic selfie' thing is kind of played out, but there's something… timeless about your images. So I'd love to set up an appointment or interview with you when you get a chance. Here's my card… So great talking with you, Max." The man handed her his contact card and with that he was off again.

"What the fuck…" the stunned rocker-gal muttered to herself. Her head felt like killing her. Her vision frequently shifted between clouded and clear. Only now did she notice that she was standing in front of her own picture, which had attracted quite a crowd.

She turned to look at the picture, but as soon as her eyes had wandered to the blue butterfly-tattoo on her arm in the picture a searing, stabbing pain manifested in her head. Instinctively she reached for her upper lip as she could feel a wet sensation there. Her hand came away bloody, as she had expected it would. Nearly instantly the room around her seemed to blur out of form and she felt like she'd fall any moment, but she didn't.

Instead she suddenly was back at the lighthouse, helplessly looking on as a tornado ripped through the town, destroying everything in its path. The image flickered, went black, then white and with a final sharp pang of pain she was back in the Gallery in San Francisco.

The crowd that had gathered looked at her worriedly, as someone held her by the elbow and tried to lift her up to her feet. She didn't recall falling to her knees. ' _I have to go back… I have to go back and change everything again… I can't let this happen…_ ' The rocker-gal repeated in her head over and over. She didn't bother resisting the man and woman, who helped her get to her feet. She hardly even noticed them, as her eyes were fixed on the picture before her.

The young rocker steered her tormented mind to focus on the picture. Again everything went white and then she was in her room. She nearly collapsed then and there as the headache reminded her of itself with a sickening sharp twist of pain that surged through her head, clouding her vision. As she gasped for air the young woman noticed that the black dots and the shimmering of her vision didn't go away. It was as if the whole room, her room, was flickering in and out of reality and existence.

' _If I can't go back to the moment of me giving that fucking bastard the picture, I just have to make sure there is no picture that I could give him._ ' With a herculean effort Max steadied her breathing and focused on the task at hand. She snagged the picture from her instant-camera and ripped it in half. Immediately the pain returned and she felt like someone hand just kicked her in the head. She felt sick. A flash of white, a strangely familiar haze and then her vision started to clear again.

* * *

"What did you say, Max?" The man standing before her was no other Mark Jefferson. She was back in the dark room, taped to the same chair. Right back where she had started from.

' _What the hell? What the actual fuck?!_ ' Her mind was racing as the memories of various 'pasts' and 'presents' tried to rearrange themselves in her head. ' _This doesn't make sense! That fucker should be in jail! What the hell went wrong?_ ' Her eyes fell on the man's hands. No traces of recent wounds. This indeed appeared to be the same 'present' she had started out from. ' _Oh, no! Chloe!_ ' This one thought brought back everything again, but most of all – the rage.

"Jesus. It's like you're back in my class. You're still spacing out." The man seemed not to notice the change in the girl's eyes as he leaned in closer. "It might be cool if you took one of your patented selfies now… The transformation between the old Max and the new Max… Anyway, answer my question, please." The man waved a hand in front of her face to get her attention.

Cold fury burned in her gut, like it had been filled up to the brim with liquid, molten metal, but the young woman stayed silent. She didn't feel the blood flowing from her nose, but the man in front of her noticed.

"Hey… Your nose is bleeding! Probably gave you too big a dose. Sorry about that, Max. But considering you're about to die, a nosebleed is a first world problem." The man sneered at her, clearly not caring what actually happened to the woman before him. He already turned away from her, when he caught a glimpse of the young rocker turning her head to the side where hours before another woman had lain. "Oh, I had to let Victoria Chase go. She's exactly where she deserves to be…" He mused as if to himself, before turning back towards the rocker with the brown-red hair and looking her in the eyes. "Your iris… That… dilation like a shutter… the pictures you're taking of me now. Too bad you pissed away your gift. You could have won the contest, but you destroyed your own beautiful photograph… What a waste." He sounded almost sincerely sad, before continuing in a more serene tone. "Sorry, I burned all your stuff. I got a little carried away. Especially since you've developed from out-sider to the most-loved anti-hero of the school within a week. There's something… weird going on with you."

As the young girl with the nose-piercing continued to stare at the man defiantly a sudden flicker of the lights occurred. The sound of the raging storm was audible even here.

"Whoa! Did you see how crazy it is outside?" He laughed a little, but returned to look Max in the eyes again. "Like I said… something weird. Where is that fear?... Defiant to the last? Oh, Max… It's an honour working with you on these final sessions. I hope these images will be appreciated for what they truly capture." There was a sly, knowing and menacing grin on the man's face as he spoke this last sentence. "The loss… of youth and hope." As if he'd made a joke of sorts, the psychopathic teacher burst out in a low laugh. "At least… that's the last lecture you'll ever have to hear from me… And I promise you – no more nosebleeds."

As the man turned and walked over to the trolley to fill up another syringe with drugs, the rocker-girl noticed something as she strained against the tape that was holding her in place. Rage, like blinding white lightening shot through her. With a casual smile on his face the man turned again and strolled towards her, syringe in hand.

"I promise. This final dose won't hurt." He said as he placed the needle against the young woman's neck. But he never came to give Max this 'final dose'. A noise startled him. The noise of somebody opening the hatch.

Without a moments delay he turned towards the door and was already grapping for a metal pipe lying on the ground, when his feet were kicked out underneath him. As he fell, he tried to heave at his assailant, but the hand he was waving was hit by a fist at his elbow with a bone-shattering force as another hand had nimbly grabbed hold of his wrist and turned it into an odd angle before.

He screamed in pain, as the pipe fell to the ground, but in the next moment found himself gasping for air, as it seemed all the air had escaped his lungs in a single moment. He actually _heard_ the cracking of his ribs as a forceful and vicious kick landed on his torso. Another kick followed and this time he howled like a half-slaughtered boar, as he felt his ribs breaking.

In a swift motion the assailant had straddled him and now was repeatedly jabbing his face and upper body, as if a hailstorm had come down - only that this time it was in a confined space, fist shaped and relentless. Still he tried to struggle, but through his battered glasses he saw that this attacker was no other than the girl he had thought drugged enough to not be able to move for at least six more hours. Her face was contorted in a bizarre mix of hate, rage and grief, as tears were freely running down her cheeks. She was muttering something, or maybe screaming, but he couldn't really tell the difference, as the woman had taken his head into her hands and had started bashing it against the floor. Somewhere in the distance a door creaked.

"Max? Oh Lord, Max! Are you ok? Are you alright? Max, stop it!" There was a male voice sounding in the room, but it seemed to come from far away. He felt that the weight pressing painfully against his broken ribcage was being pulled away.

' _He killed Chloe… He killed Chloe… He killed Chloe…_ ' It was as if someone had decided to play a certain movie or more precisely a snippet of a movie in the young rocker-gal's head on repeat. She didn't notice how David Madsen's hands released their grip on her as she staggered away from the beaten teacher lying on the ground.

"Damn, Max… I might be a veteran and I have had my fair share of hand to hand combat experience, but hell, am I happy that I haven't triggered you." The school guard looked up briefly at the young woman with the bloodied knuckles. She had knocked out the man on the ground along with quite a bunch of his teeth. "He won't be going anywhere when he wakes up." He tried to reassure the young rocker, as he put on handcuffs on the unconscious man. "Except you are going to prison forever. Or worse." He concluded, staring down on the man with unmasked disgust on his face.

' _Save Chloe._ ' A single thought broke through the blood-red veil clouding the rocker-girl's mind. A quick glance at the trolley, where the remains of her diary lay told her that the psychopathic man had truly burned everything – including her photos. Suddenly a memory flickered to life in her mind. This wasn't exactly the 'present' she had started out from. There was one chance.

' _Warren! Yes! I can use that picture he took of us!_ ' Came the thought as the memories flooded her mind with a rush. She had reluctantly agreed to take a picture with the nerdy boy. At least in this timeline, but this might just be the thing she needed right now to set things straight.

She grabbed her cell-phone after she had pulled up her t-shirt, but there was no signal in the bunker-turned-dark-room. Had it been any other situation – she might have flung it against the nearest wall, but the safety of the one girl she so dearly loved was paramount. So instead she kicked the trolley sending it skittering against the furthest wall of the room. At the same time her eyes locked on an object on the table in the room and without further questions or thinking she grabbed it. It was the keys to Mr Jefferson's car.

A flash of Chloe getting shot flashed before her eyes again. Without uttering a word the young woman walked up to the man lying on the ground and before the security guard kneeling next to him could say anything, she broke the ankle of the man's left foot with two violent twists.

"Whoa! Max, I know this place looks like hell and I don't even want to imagine what he put you through, but there is only so much you can write of as self-defence." There was no accusation in Mr Madsen's voice, more like a cautionary tone.

"He was going to kill me… like he did to Victoria Chase…" Those were the first actual words she had said to the security guard after he had arrived here. The shock on the man's face was evident.

"Oh no…" This seemed to hit him hard. He did really care about the students, didn't he? "I always suspected that bastard, but I hadn't thought… I wasn't surprised when you accused Nathan of drugging Kate Marsh. I thought so too, but I treated Kate like shit. Like she was the suspect not the others… I know she's a good person… but I'm not. I hope I get to tell her that soon. I hope I can atone for what I've done."

"She was bullied up to that roof, and I know just how that feels, but it was still Nathan and Jefferson who put her there." It felt strange to talk to the man, who had become her best friends' step-father, in this hellish place.

"I knew Nathan Prescott was a threat. I just waited too long to neutralize him." The man continued to beat himself up about the whole ordeal.

"Shitfuck here already did. Buried him. They had some kind of twisted father-son thing going on." Max replied, her eyes not leaving the unmoving body of the man on the ground. He was out cold. "But Nathan killed Rachel, and Jefferson had to use him as a scapegoat."

"That pervert was pulling all this shit right under my nose too…" The ex-military balled his fists at his sides at the thought of that. "I could have stopped him and Nathan if only I hadn't been so stupid!"

"No… I told the principal about Nathan waving a gun in the girls' restroom and almost using it, but he dismissed it as groundless accusations." There was such hate in the girl's voice…

"But I have to admit I'm impressed by you… and Chloe, and your investigation. I had all the high tech toys – you had each other. I'm not going to make any excuses for my behaviour. I tried to be a good soldier, but… I wasn't so great. I tried to be a good father, too. But, I failed at that too… I just want to see Chloe safe with her mother. I don't expect her to call me dad, but maybe she'll stop calling me 'step-douche'." He said, hoping to steer the conversation into another direction, but by the sudden change in the girl's expression he knew he had just steered the hypothetical 'ship' of the conversation against rocks. "So, where is Chloe?"

For a moment it seemed the normally so livid girl would freeze up and stand still, but then she replied, stating that the young blue-haired girl had gone to 'medicate' before the rocker-gal had ended up in the bunker.

"She's safe? Oh, thank God! For once I'm happy Chloe's a stoner. And if I ever see you two hitting the blunt – just remind me that it can be a lifesaver." The man managed a small laugh, but the icy feeling inside Max's gut didn't vanish. She had to right this, right now!

"David, I have to go outside and get some real air… and use my phone." She said as the man pulled her in a short but warm embrace.

"Sure. Go on, Max. You're a brave soldier. I'm glad Chloe has a best friend like you." He said as he turned to watch the knocked out man again, leaving the girl to her own musings.

* * *

\- Death is the road to awe-

* * *

"Warren? Can you hear me?" Max had to yell to actually hear the sound of her own voice as she stepped outside of the barn and dialled the number of the nerdy young man's from her class number.

"Max? Damn, where are you?" Came the worried reply from the other end of the line.

"Never mind. We don't have time for this right now. Listen, do you still have the photo you took last night in the parking lot?" The girl with brown-red hair cut him off crudely. "I have to have it. Where are you right now?"

"I'm at the Two Whales diner. Pretty much trapped in here with Joyce, thanks to Armageddon weather." The man replied with a worried laugh. "I'm expecting the ocean to turn red…"

"Stay there. I'm on my way." With that she hung up as she already got into the teacher's car and started the motor. This was her one shot at getting things right. She could not fuck this up. She wouldn't allow it.

She was already close to the Two Whales, when her phone vibrated and made knocking sounds. She had received a voice-message. Apparently received a day ago. She put it on more out of instinct than really caring for its content.

"Max, it's… it's Nathan. I just wanted to say… I'm sorry." The voice of the now deceased young man on the message was shaky. He was clearly crying and trying not to let it influence the flow of what he has to say. "I- I didn't want to hurt Kate or Rachel, or… didn't want to hurt anybody. Everybody… used me. Mr Jefferson… is coming for me now. All this shit will be over soon. Watch out, Max… He wants to hurt you next. Sorry." She only half-registered what the man she had so ruthlessly beaten had said in the message, but a small fraction of her, the one that remembered the young man from other 'pasts' and 'presents' where he had been a true 'knight in shining armour' for the students of the whole Academy, felt something along the lines of pity for him.

Still, she had no time to think about it too much as the debris blocking the road forced her to bring the car to an abrupt halt. It seemed the tornado had already reached the city, or very well would do so in the next few minutes.

She didn't really remember how she got to or into the dinner, but there she was – standing in front of an exhausted and battered looking Joyce, who nearly crushed her with the hug she gave her as the older woman noticed the young rocker, and the nerdy young man, staying a bit further away with a shy expression on his face. Another man was standing behind them, with a somewhat pained, but at the same time hopeful expression – Frank.

Before she had a chance to ask Warren about the photo, Frank had already stepped in front of her and after, shockingly, giving her a warm hug too, started asking about their investigation.

"Frank… Rachel… Rachel is dead." Her voice broke a little as she said it, her mind again a myriad of thoughts and memories. Rage, anger, helplessness and other emotions wrestling for control.

"God, no, please… Please, no… No, not Rachel… She can't fucking be dead!" The man nearly fell down to his knees, but steadied himself at the counter and let himself slide slowly against it to the ground. It was a moment before he spoke up again. "Are you… Are you sure? I mean, how do you know?"

"Frank, we used the names you gave us to track down a farmhouse. The professor, Mark Jefferson, had this creepy, fucked up photo-torture room there… and we found out he was using Nathan Prescott to drug and photograph Blackwell students." Max replied, trying to be somewhat considerate, but failing…

"Prescott? Fuck! Fuck, I knew it! I should never have hooked up with that sick punk! Pompidou hated him! You saw… you saw Rachel?" The emotions on the man's face changed by the moment as sadness finally overcame any other emotion.

"Yes." Was the only thing she could bring herself to say. All of this was too much. Too much to tell, too much to relive.

"Rachel… Oh, God. She was the one good thing in my life, Max…" The man's voice was barely audible over the raging storm outside. "I know she was too young, and… I expected her to leave me, just… just not how it happened… I would have never stopped her from going after her dreams."

"I know… She cared about you, Frank." The rocker-gal replied, her glance somewhat vacant, but the man didn't seem to notice.

"Rachel cared about a lot of people… especially Chloe… but, uh… now I see why Rachel dug her… and Chloe was man enough to ask me for help after all that shit we went through… You know, the one time I met my dad, the bastard quoted the bible and said he wanted to 'enter his house justified'." The man with the dirty blonde hair didn't notice the look on the young woman's face, but seemed to notice the uneasiness she felt. "In other words, to do the right thing… me too. And maybe you're helping me get there, Max. Don't get me wrong, kid. I still think you're scary and dangerous… but you're cool."

A silent 'yeah, you too' was all the rocker-gal managed to say. The quiet sobs of the broken man she had just talked to lingered in her ears as she turned and walked over to the young nerd with brown hair standing farther off at the counter.

"I hate to say I'm glad to see you, but I'm so glad to see you. But damn, Max… I can't believe you drove down here in the middle of a fucking E6 tornado, just for one photograph…" Warren addressed her as she stepped closer, but seemed somewhat embarrassed, as he probably expected to be able to hug her too. "I mean, I know you didn't come for me." He managed a small laugh.

"Warren, listen. This important. Tell me you _do_ have the photograph." The mentioning of the picture in question pulled the rocker-gal out of the dark place of her minds jungle she had stumbled into.

"Yeah, sure, I just wanted to-" The man started, clearly at odds with himself, either due to the whole situation they were in or because of something else, but the rocker with brown-red hair silenced him with an upheld hand and a look that told him 'we don't have time for this'.

"Warren, shut up and listen. I know you mean well, but I need that picture right now. You have to trust me." For a moment the young man didn't seem to know what to do. He clearly had something on his mind, but after taking a long look at the young woman's face, which was a mask of fierce determination, he relented. With a sigh he pulled out the folded photograph from his wallet.

"Her you go, Max." He held the photo out for her. In a flash the young girl had snagged the picture from his hand and started to stare at it intently. For a brief moment he thought something shimmered in the young girls' eyes and was reflected on the picture…

For the umpteenth time that day everything turned white for the young rocker with the nose-piercing. The headache was still there, but as the light faded, her eyes settled on the one person standing before her – a certain blue-nette.

* * *

"We got no time for this shit. Come on, Max." The punk-girl said with an annoyed tone waiting for Warren to let go of the rocker-gal in question. Nearly immediately the vision of the shocked blue-haired woman was obscured, when in the next moment the shorter woman practically leaped from where she was standing next to the young man, crushed her in a tight hug and kissed her hard on the mouth not caring for the audience present.

"Jesus, dude… what's up with you?" Chloe asked a bit breathlessly, when the other girl released her from the tight embrace. It was only now that she noticed the tears running down the young woman's cheeks. "Are you ok? What's going on, Max? We have to find Nathan right now. Let's go." She urged her friend on. She could still feel the burning sensation of the other girls' lips being pressed against hers, but seeing the look on her best friends face had shaken her quite a bit. Still, she couldn't let it hold them back now. They were so close to finally avenging Rachel. She was so close... "Max, we really have to get going lest that fucker escapes." She felt a sharp sting of pain in her chest when she turned her back on the crying, clearly distraught woman, but this was it – the moment of truth. The moment she had not known she had waited for throughout many months. She could not falter. Not now. ' _Fuck, Price! You're going to regret this. You are so going to regret this._ ' The voice in her head and heart told her to turn around and embrace the young rocker-gal, try to sooth her, but the bitterness and anger in her gut won through. She couldn't allow herself to falter. "Come on Max. Just tell me what is going on, while we walk. I can walk _and_ listen, okay?"

She was forcefully grabbed by the shoulders. Painfully even. And suddenly she was face to face with the young rocker with brown-red hair. Max's face was a livid expression of anger and… pain?

"Stop and listen for once!" The young rocker nearly yelled. In the distance she could see the young nerdy man slip around the corner of the building, clearly not wanting to stand in the way of the angry rocker-gal. "Chloe, you can't go in that party. You're gonna die if you do."

"You used your powers, right? And you fucked around with time, and I died." The blue-haired girl said with venom in her voice that she had not intended to be there. She could see how much it hurt the woman in front of her, but time again her mouth just didn't know when to stop. "You're supposed to back me up. So there's no way that punk-ass bitch Nathan Prescott is taking me down."

"He won't." The face of the young woman with the nose-piercing seemed to be drained of colour. "Mark Jefferson killed you… and others."

"Jefferson, the art teacher? That's bullshit! Nathan is the fucking serial killer! We saw the proof!" Chloe said, but even as she did, the expression on her best friends face made her doubt it. "Now, excuse me, I'm going to that party to make sure he never hurts anybody again. Are you coming?"

"He's dead, Chloe! Nathan is already dead… and you're in danger." The burst of anger that shot over Max's face was enough to make the punk-girl regret her boorish attitude, but there was something in those eyes that she hadn't seen before – like something had seriously shaken the normally tough-as-nails rocker-gal to the core. Like there was something seriously amiss and one wrong word could send her tumbling into the deepest pits of darkness.

"Max, calm down…" For the first time in this evening since they had found Rachel's body Chloe's mind settled on the only other thing that had ever really mattered to her – her best friend. She could see the woman standing in front of her was shaking, despite the relatively warm weather. Her eyes were red from crying, but they had a vacant, haunted look in them. Instinctively the punk-girl stepped closer and wanted to hug the girl with brown-red hair, but to her surprise her advance was met with a silent, very silent 'don't'. ' _Shit! Get yourself together, Price! She's in really bad shape!_ ' "Will you please tell me exactly what happened? Please?"

"I was there…" She said it in such a quiet voice that Chloe didn't really hear it and unconsciously reacted with a 'huh?'.

"I was fucking there! Goddamn it!" The rocker-gal snapped at her as she hugged herself. Judging by the white knuckles on her hands, Chloe had no problems imagining that tomorrow there would be marks on the rocker-girls' arms. "Jefferson… Jefferson drugged and kidnapped me. I was tied up in his bunker and you-" Her voice broke there and for a moment before she continued in a low, quiet voice. "You were dead… You have no idea what hell I went through to get back here! But I couldn't let you die! I can't lose you again… I won't!"

"Oh… Max… I'm- I'm so sorry…" Chloe's mind was racing now. "I was the one who dragged you into all this shit… Nobody, especially you, should have to go through that…" For a few moments she felt like she'd been petrified by what she'd just heard, but her determination to see things through were even more solidified by it than ever before. "Now we have to stop Jefferson… with one bullet."

"No! Not this way! Jesus, fuck! Can you just listen?" There was pure anguish in the rocker-gals' eyes. "I can't- I can't keep fixing everything, if all I'm gonna do is just break it over and over again. I can't do it! I know how this is gonna turn out… I can't keep pushing… I've fucked up so much… all those alternate realities-"

"Wait… alternate realities?" The blue-nette interrupted her friend and unconsciously grabbing her by one elbow. Only now did she fell how tense the other girls' body was, like she was ready to lash out at any moment. "What do you mean, Max? What did you do?"

"I fucked up, Chloe! I wanted to make things right… for you, for me… but everything turned out wrong. It turned out so wrong!" The response from the young rocker was a whimper, barely audible over the young woman's sobs and the far away music droning over from the party-area. "All I wanted was to see you smile… Just once… to be happy… with me…" This broken side of the young girl with brown-red hair scared the shit out of Chloe, for she knew – she wasn't much of a help. How could she help anyone if all she did was depend and vent her own problems on others? Had she not done the same to Max over this past week despite the young rocker giving her everything? "I was able to go back in time… to the last day William was alive."

"What?" Chloe felt like someone had just poured molten ice in her stomach.

"I stopped him from leaving, but you ended up in a car crash instead." Max's eyes had taken on a hazy dazed glint as if she was not really looking at anything. Or looking at something that no one else could see… "You were completely paralyzed… And you were in so much pain. You-… you were slowly dying… You asked me to end your life! I tried to change things. I didn't want it to be true, so I tried to change different things, but it just kept getting worse and worse from every timeline or reality that I came from… And at the end of it all, all I could do was do as you pleaded me to do… I did it… for you… I didn't want you to suffer in any other timeline or reality… Do you understand? The one true thing that I love, murdered by my own hands, because of MY mistakes! I couldn't bear the thought of you in any more pain… I just can't… I can't lose you!" It was as if something had finally given in inside the rocker-girl, as in the next moment Chloe had all hands full to hold her steady, when the young woman slumped forwards, seemingly reaching the limits of her energy to go on.

' _Shit! Fuck! You dumb bitch! You can't even fathom what she's been through, but no – you have to keep on pushing her! Great, Price! Fucking great!_ ' The voice of self-loathing boomed in Chloe's head. She could feel now, just how violently her friend was shaking as she pressed the woman against herself, holding them both upright.

"God, Max… That must have been… That must have been awful for you… I'm- I'm sorry I had to ask you that…" ' _Of course you hadn't! She begged you to listen, but you didn't! Just like always! You just run off and let others deal with the mess you leave behind!_ ' The venomous voice spat right back.

"It was worse for you… But I had no idea what would happen, and as usual, I messed everything up, and I can't… If it means losing you… I'd rather… I never want to hurt you, ever… You are the one thing that kept me going…" She heard the muffled voice of the shorter woman against the crook of her neck.

"I believe you, Max. Do you think I would even know how to handle that situation? Nobody would! You are so much stronger than me and all I've done is to just hurt you instead for all the good that you have done me… But I swear I won't let that happen again! I will change and make it up to you! For the important thing is that we're together again!" She softly cradled the shorter girl in her arms, speaking in a hushed mellow voice. It was too much to bear. ' _How can she still go on? After all she's been through? How can she still say she loves me after all I said? After all I've done? How do I deserve this?_ ' "I'll stay just right here, by your side. Together with you. Alive."

"We have to tell David. He'll believe us. We tell him everything, including that Victoria is in danger. She is Jeffersons next target…" The brown-red haired girl seemed to pick herself up again. Chloe could still feel that she was crying, but she was standing on her own again more than being held up by the punk-girl. "I don't know how this will fuck up the timeline. I might not remember any of this… nothing. But we absolutely have to stay in your room and do nothing. Regardless of how heartless it might be against Victoria, but we have to. Then we explain everything to David and we finally let him do his job. If I don't remember – you'll have to tell me exactly what I did and said just now. Just explain that I travelled through time using the photo." As she spoke the last sentence, the punk-girl felt how the shorter woman finally eased out of the embrace. The woman standing in front of her had the old glint of steel back in her blue eyes. "I'll believe you."

With a determined look on her face the blue-haired punk embraced her best friend again, briefly, warmly, before finally setting her mind on what the girl had said and instructed her to do. She didn't notice the small changes in the shorter woman's eyes, nor the blue insect that was happily, lazily flapping its wings in the late autumn air.

* * *

White flashed before her eyes as a myriad of memories flew past her minds' eye, but it was not the return of her vision that brought Max back to the 'here and now' this time around. It was the wet sensation of her skin. Like she'd held her hand in water. Or more like – she'd been thrown into a pool. She felt like she was freezing. It only then occurred to her that she was standing outside somewhere. The wind tore at her cloth as the rain whipped at her face.

"Chloe? Chloe!" The predominant thought returned with a surge. She felt a steadying hand on her shoulder.

"I'm right here, Max. I see that the real you is back, so… how was your time trip, dude?" The punk-girl with blue hair asked as her friend embraced her in a tight hug.

"Oh, you're alive! You're alive, Chloe… Oh, God!" The shorter woman released her grip on her best friend as she took a step back just to get a better view of the woman she had just embraced so tightly. ' _God, please let this be it! Please, don't take it away…_ ' "I did so much to bring you back… and now you're here, Chloe… It worked. It actually worked." Still, as she said these words, dread settled in her gut. Like an old wound that had been torn up again, it started to fester and grow. Even when the young blue-nette embraced her on her own and declared that fate didn't want to see them apart.

"You travelled through multiple realities just to save my ungrateful ass over and over." The punk-girl said as she stepped a few steps away from the still slightly dazed and confused rocker. "I hope it was worth it, but… I won't blame you if you want me out of your life after all my drama."

"What the-? Chloe! I came back for _you_. I did this so I can be with _you_. I mean, look at me!" The tiny flicker of anger in Max's eyes told Chloe that her friend was 'right here, right now'. "Just look at what my powers have caused in just a short time. I mean, look!"

"Max, we were meant to be here at this exact time of history together and if this whole crazy week doesn't prove it… hell, I don't know what will." The punk-girl managed a small smile as she looked at the woman before her. ' _How can anybody ever deserve such a friend like her? How can I ever deserve that?_ ' "I have to think that Rachel was somewhere behind the scenes, fighting for justice…" Too late she noticed the small tinge of sad bitterness in the other woman's eyes as it vanished nearly instantly, but it had been there… right? "Do you remember anything?"

"Yeah, yeah… It's all there… It's still all there. Chloe! We have to get to the lighthouse!" There was a slight tone of panic in the young woman's voice.

"I know. You told me. The storm is coming closer and it's still growing. Who knows… This could be Rachel's revenge… Our revenge." Again the blue-haired girl thought she saw something in her best friends' eyes, but then she noticed something else entirely. "Max? Max! Your nose… Max, can you hear me?"

"Chloe…" Was the last thing the young rocker-gal could breathe out as her vision swam, blurred, turned to white once more and then turned to a black that would have put the deepest abyss in the shadow.

* * *

"Where have you been, Max? Where has my proud warrior-princess turned puppy gone?" Max snapped around as if stung by something. Her whole body felt like ice.

"Oh, Max! Wouldn't it be great to spend the rest of our lives in that Dark Room, hm? Jefferson could be our slave, but oh… we would have to get rid of that pest Chloe…" She was standing at the blackboard in her class-room in the Academy. The woman standing before her was mesmerizingly beautiful. She had eyes like big green emeralds. Her hair, slightly whipping in a breeze that the rocker-gal herself didn't feel, was black as the darkest night. Her lips were red as rubies. Red as blood. Her voice tore through the young rockers mind like a claw, but sounded like the purring of a cat. The woman touched Max's cheek with one ice-cold hand. "I can't stand the thought of you leaving me!"

"Cassandra! No this isn't real! No!" Max bound for the door, but before she even had made a few steppes her vision turned to black once more.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **Hey, guys and gals. Really don't recommend sleep deprivation and working overtime. Especially if you're not getting paid for it at the end of it all! Anyways – here is the promised new chapter. Cooked it a bit longer, but doubt that it's improved much as the last chapters have been kind of mediocre (at least I do believe so, myself), but I hope you can still enjoy it. Still don't know when the next one will be out, but got some plans and maybe one or two smaller or bigger twists that I hope you'll enjoy, when they finally pop up.**

 **With that said - cheers and have a great day and rest of the week ;)!**

 **Yours,**

 **Bovragor**


	12. Chapter 12

**WARNING:**

 **All characters and the story upon which this fanfiction is based are property of Dontnod Entertainment and Square Enix. I don't own anything.**

 **As this is my first story to be published here, I will be happy about every reviews - both good and bad as only so I can know what I have to improve. :)**

 **Rated M for crude and strong language at times, violence and mature content.**

* * *

\- Dark Maze-

* * *

What followed was a seemingly endless stream of nightmares. A myriad of the worst possible realities. Memories of 'pasts' and 'presents' she had hoped to never relive again. Broken, twisted and filled with hate… She fell through them, ran through them, fled, begged, cried… Nothing in that hellish place she was trapped in showed her any mercy. An endless fall through torment and pain until…

With a thud and a sharp pain registering in her abdomen the rocker-gal crashed to the ground. She could feel like somebody was holding her down, like someone was pressing her head against the roadside. She couldn't open her right eye – it felt like someone had landed a blow there with a bludgeoning hammer.

"Oh, lookie, lookie! What have we here? If it isn't the knight in shining armour?" Sharp pain seared through her shoulder and she could feel like something sharp was being pulled along her arm. "Oh, Max! We could have had such a wonderful time together, you know? I would have made you into a goddess! A masterpiece of my art." It was only now that she recognised the voice as the haze from getting her head beat against the ground had numbed her senses. It was Mr Jefferson.

"We can carve her up! Make an example of her!" The second voice belonged to no other than Nathan Prescott.

"Not so hasty! We have time on our hands, don't we? Why not have some fun?" The third voice was Warrens'. She felt like screaming, but something was holding her back. Like she'd lost her ability to speak or even move. Like she was in the dark room, but only worse. She knew where she was. She knew what would happen. The rocker-gal tried to move but to no avail, further adding to the mounting pain and desperation fuelled panic.

She felt as someone grabbed rudely the hem of her jeans and started to tug. ' _No! This is not happening! This isn't real! This isn't happening!_ ' Her mind felt like it was frozen with terror. Not thoughts, nothing. Just a numb feeling, that was engulfing her, blending out what was about to happen. She cried without any noise. She couldn't make a sound for all she tried.

Something hit her in the stomach and she suddenly felt like drowning. ' _Air! I need air!_ ' Her mind screamed in sudden panic, when the scenery shifted, melting into an oblivion of black and misshaped oily masses. But there was none. It felt like every inch of her was covered in thick oil, denying the access to the much needed oxygen.

And then she suddenly was back in the Academy. Standing in the class-room near the blackboard. Casandra was looking at her with a look of utter loathing and perverse satisfaction in her eyes, her arms slanged around the photography teachers' neck as she stood on her toes, leaning in to kiss the man, who sneered at the young rocker-gal.

"And you thought it was all real? You thought she loved you? How pathetic can you even get?" The man laugher cruelly. It stung like someone had pierced her heart with a knife.

"You're so gullible, Max. Seriously. Have you ever even thought about it for real? You come back for a week and we fall in love like in some dramatic romance movie? Has it ever occurred to you that you are just a waste of space and skin? You're just a substitute. I just waited for someone like Cas to come along. You can go play with Rachel in the dirt." In the place where the hated teacher had stood now was the one woman she loved above everything in the world, entangled in the arms of Max's ex-girlfriend, who nibbled at the blue-nettes' earlobe. It felt like someone would twist the knife.

It felt like all air was knocked out of her lungs. She wanted to speak up. To scream, to yell. But nothing came out.

The scenery melted before her very eyes and as it fell and twisted into new forms, she felt like the ground she was standing on would give in, bogging her down, tying her to the very spot where she was.

Suddenly she was no longer in the Academy, but in the dark room, shackled to the chair with white-hot iron bounds, that seared her flesh and at the same time felt like coldest ice – freezing her to a point where she couldn't distinguish the pain from the burned flesh from the pain of the stinging cold. The pain was maddening, but she couldn't cry, she couldn't speak, she couldn't move. She could only look on at the hideous scenery before her.

"I think you'd be perfect for my new photo series on retro-grunge…" The psychopathic teacher addressed the punk-girl, who was standing right next to the chair Max was sitting in, posing for the man. "You have the same qualities that I loved in Rachel Amber… but not Max. She is completely useless."

"Oh, God, I know, right?" It was still Chloe who was standing there, but she had Cas's voice. "She's so self-absorbed and she never shut's up about how tragic her life has been! I'm so glad that she's finally gone. Let's celebrate this." A snap of the camera and the scenery had changed again.

"Booyah, Warren! I thought you were all over Max's shit…" The punk-girl with the blue hair was standing just in her underwear as the young man before her ogled her with lust in his eyes.

"Not after the shit she pulled back in the alley. She's such a slut. God, I hope she's dead." The man sneered as his eyes took in every crook and cranny of the taller woman's body. "Let's bust a move?" A flash again. Shorter this time.

"Goddamn, you're a sexy bitch! And oh, you should have seen that fucking cunt's face, when she found us in the class-room!" Nathan was sitting on the couch in the dark room as Casandra straddled his lap.

"She's just like my personal puppet, but I have to admit, she's kinda used up. Gotta throw the useless things away." The woman with the raven-black hair purred.

"I hear that. Do you… want to party? I got a drugstore in my room." The man said as the woman slid down from his lap and walked over to the chained girl.

"Oh shit! Look at Max spying on us… Take a fucking picture, bitch! Or take a selfie!" The girl standing before her was not Cas anymore, but Chloe. Again a white flash. Even shorter this time.

"See, this is how you bust a move, Max… No mosh pit for you, shaka brah!" This time it was Rachel Amber, who was slowly undressing Cas, as Chloe urged her on, herself being tightly embraced by a half-naked Victoria. "You were always in the way of everyone and everything. I'm so glad you're finally gone!" Again it flashed white before her eyes.

She was standing in the hallway of the dorms, but there was no light except for an eerie glow of candles being placed on the ceiling.

Her feet moved on her own along the hallway, which seemed so much longer than she remembered it to be. One by one people from the various 'pasts' and 'presents' came out of the rooms. So many of them… As soon as they entered the hallway, they started to accuse Max of different things… painful things.

"Why did you come up to that roof? Why did you stop me? I hated my life and wanted it over with, but no! Thanks to you I'm stuck with my family, who was the reason I wanted to take my life in the first place, you dumb bitch!" Kate spat at her, when the rocker-gal passed her.

"You can't do anything right, can you? You should have just let them have their way with you. Oh, don't expect I'd take you back. A slut like you is not the company I keep." Casandra sneered at her.

"You can't save anyone. You just think about yourself! How can you be so useless and naïve? It's an embarrassment to just think about being friends with you." Rachel turned away from her with a hate-filled expression.

"Oh, hey, Max! Please, remind Joyce and Chloe for me that it was you who let me die." William beamed at her, but in his eyes danced an evil flame.

"Why do you even have rewind powers, when you can't even use them properly? Rachel's dead and I'm paralyzed. You murdered me. Life is so not fair…" Chloe was there in a wheelchair, staring balefully at the young rocker with brown-red hair. "I wish you'd have never come back to Arcadia Bay…"

"We should have never had children. If I had known my daughter to be so useless, I'd have had an abortion." Her mother was standing there by her father's side who didn't even acknowledge her presence.

Every step, every word, every syllable was like a battering ram pounding on the gates of her sanity, seeping away her precious few happy memories, draining her of the will to live.

Thud… Thud… Thud… A sound as if wood would croak under great pressure and then she was there on the roof of the school building in Seattle. The students and teachers were standing down below urging her to jump.

"Do it, Max. Make us proud for once." Said a choir of voices as she felt how the myriad of people standing in the hallway behind her reached out to push her.

Again the white flash and she was standing in the art gallery in San Francisco. It was dark and silent. And suddenly something gave way inside her. Something had crumbled to dust, never to be raised again. She screamed into the darkness. She cried. She cursed. She begged.

A light flashed before her. It was Mr Jefferson standing there with a flashlight, looking down at her in utter disgust.

Something snapped in the rocker-gal. With lightning speed she rushed forward and talked the man. A heavy punch landed on the side of her head, but she didn't really feel it. With a violent heave she lifted the taller and heavier man in the air before she threw him to the ground. A swift, fluid motion later she had already broken his right arm and as the man howled in an inhuman voice, blinded by pain, the young woman roared in hate and rage. She broke the man's other arm by breaking first his elbow and then the shoulder, with such force that she could hear the muscles snap from the bones they were attached to. But none of that really registered as she continued to punch the man's face and upper torso, before settling on strangling him. As his air pipe was slowly being crushed his howls became whimpers, before they were silenced completely.

The figure now changed form, as life was chocked out of it. First it changed to Kate, then Rachel, then Casandra, then Chloe, until it settled on Max's own image, but the hold on the figure's neck only got tighter as if the rocker-gal wanted to rip out its throat and not strangle it.

A flash of red light and she was standing in the gallery again, only this time she saw everything in different shades of red. She heard whispers, sneers and laughter. A flash of white light appeared somewhere in the dark maze and she bound for it. Not to see if that was a possible exit from this nightmarish realm, but to snuff it out, to shred it to bits, to tear it apart.

An earthshattering howl escaped her lips as she ran towards the light and in the next moment she felt how she herself was changing. She felt how everything she had experienced started to change what she was, to shape what she had become. Without slowing down she placed one big black paw before the other.

' _Wait! What?_ ' It was only now that she stopped for the briefest of moments. She looked down to look at the paws that had been her hands just moments before, but instead she saw her own reflection on the ground, which was covered in thick red liquid. A black wolf with piercing blue eyes stared back at her from the reflection on the ground. The same dark red liquid that covered the floor of the gallery was dripping from her maw. She caught herself grinning at what she saw just to see that the wolf in the reflection had barred its teeth in an ugly, frightening snarl. ' _My foes - they can't destroy my body! And I'm one step from lashing out at you..._ _Stay away from me!_ ' The lyrics from some of her favourite songs mixed together as a silent tune which only she could hear started to whisper in her ears. For a brief moment she closed her eyes listening to it, before she bound forwards again.

"If you push too far, expect to be pushed back." She heard her own voice as a ferocious growl. There it was – the source of the light. Another wolf was standing at the centre of it. It had slightly bluish white fur and black eyes.

Without a second lost the two beasts roared and charged at each other. There was no mercy, no forgiveness, nothing except the rage and anger in Max's mind, whilst the other beast, symbolising the guilt, the self-hatred and self-loathing, clawed at her with all the force it could muster. But the rage in the rocker-gal's heart was burning brighter than ever. Life had pushed her, life had beaten her, life had hurt her… No longer. ' _No longer will I lay down, play dead, play your doe in the headlights locked down and terrified! Your deer in the headlights shut down and horrified!'_

With grim satisfaction she felt her teeth sink into the throat of the creature before her, pitch-black blood dripping thickly, slowly to the ground as the figure withered before her.

As the darkness in the figure's eyes faded to grey and then to white, there was one moment when Max saw what she had become and shuddered, but there was no way back. No possibility to change what had just happened. No way to mend what had been broken by her own hands…

A white flash followed as quickly as the previous one. The rocker-girl was herself again, standing in the diner, where most of the people she had interacted with in this past week had sought shelter from the raging storm. Nobody moved, but Max could hear their voices as faint whispers in her head. They still accused her of being selfish, of abandoning them to the storm, to have brought this on them… Why didn't this nightmare end? Had she not sacrificed enough? Had she not just killed what had held her back? Why was she still here? Confused the young rocker looked over the familiar, motionless faces of the people in the diner.

"You should have just let it swallow you whole." The young woman heard her own voice addressing her. She turned around in surprise and nearly tripped over her own feet. In the booth was sitting the spitting image of herself.

"Who are you? Why are you here? I thought I had dealt with you already!" The rage boiled up in the rocker with the nose-piercing as she glared down at the woman before her, who looked exactly like her, but was somehow different. The girl sitting in the booth had shoulder-length, brown hair and wore a t-shirt with a doe on it. She looked more like a hipster than the rocker-gal Max had become over the years.

"Holy shit, are you cereal? I'm you, dumbass. Or I'm one of the many Maxes you've left behind. What's wrong? Thought every reality and timeline you crossed was just that? You destroyed countless lives. You destroyed my life. But, oh, I guess you're not done with just looking out for yourself. Am I right? You want help to get out of here? Thought you could control everybody and everything, huh? Twist time around your fingers?" The Max before the rocker-girl looked at her in disgust. What she had just said hit the 'real' Max like a hammer. Had she really done that? Were all those timelines she screwed over real in their own right and she had just done that – screw them up and leave? The possibility of it dowsed her rage and set something like ice-cold dread in her gut. ' _If she is right… Oh God! Chloe!'_ The thought was horrifying.

"I- I only wanted to see Chloe smile again…" The rocker-girl with brown-red hair said, still shocked by what her own doppelganger had said just a moment before.

"No, you only ever cared about yourself. And once you got these amazing powers, your big plan was to right only what was fitting your interests. To trick people into thinking you rive a rat's ass." The woman in the booth laughed bitterly.

"That's not true! I do care for my friends!" The words seemed weak, but somehow the laugh had triggered something in the rocker-gal as memories started to flood her mind, making it hard to concentrate.

"Yeah, right. You sure have friends you care for. Don't bullshit me! You're just a leech on everyone that is halfway kind to you! You were always looking for someone to feel sorry for you!" The woman with the doe t-shirt jabbed an accusing finger at Max. "Please, stop playing innocent. You're a goddamn hypocrite. You've left a trail of death and suffering behind you."

"That is not my fault, you lying daughter of a whore!" The anger was there, but it was helpless, bogged down by the countless memories of the various 'pasts' and 'presents'. It couldn't help Max this time…

"Don't you dare talk about our mom that way… ha!" The girl before her grinned cruelly at the rocker-gal. "All that crap was your fault! You fucked up time and space for your precious punk Chloe. You think she's worth all that?"

"She's worth everything!" Max said in a stern, harsh voice. This time around the anger didn't fail her. The thought about Chloe had focused her mind on the one thing - the one person – this was truly about – her best friend, the woman she loved, the one she'd do everything for, even if it meant to go through every hell she'd ever lived through.

"Oh, yeah, right! She's your best friend, eh? A 'best friend' you ignored for five years while she went through hell… some friend you are." The girl with shoulder-length brown hair said accusingly, but she could see it had little effect on the rocker-woman before her.

"Right. And she is my best friend, who accused me of abandoning her, even if it wasn't my choice and ignored me while _I_ went through hell _bare-feet_! Don't talk to me about her, you bitch! I have broken myself for her sake and if I have you I'll break you for it too. So fuck off!" There was fire in the rocker-gal's eyes now. If a look could set fire, the woman in the booth would have burned to cinders already.

"Yeah, because you let her bully you. Feeling so attached to her… It's called 'Stockholm Syndrome'. But you didn't do that homework… so you'll have to learn the hard way. Like Rachel…" The other Max crossed her arms before her chest, looking at the rocker with the butterfly-tattoo in defiance. "I'd be more worried about her killing us than Jefferson… Max, do you really think she's our friend? That she respects us in any way? She's not better than Casandra. Maybe even worse! Man, you're so stupid. I'm embarrassed to have the same name… And someday Chloe will destroy- Oh, hell, speak of the devil."

The door of the diner was practically being kicked in as an angry looking punk-girl entered it and walked straight up to the two quarrelling Maxes, before settling in the seat before the 'hipster'-Max.

"Dude, do not even fuck with her head! She knows what we went through! What we went through this week and you don't! There is no way you can break up our team! This is reality!" The blue-nettes words faded in the back ground as the rocker-gal's vision blurred once more.

"I don't even have to… do I?" A vicious voice full of spite and malice whispered in Max's ear, just before her vision returned revealing the black hallway. There was nothing there, but the darkness. No way in, no way out. Nothing.

"Well, after five years, you're still Max Caulfield." She heard Chloe mutter, just as she had back in the car on the first day they had met at the Academy and had escaped Nathan by driving off in Chloe's pickup-truck. The scene manifested before her as the dialogue they had played out as it had, while she slowly treaded past the pickup-truck further into the darkness. It was only now that she saw it – it was not purely dark. A light, as if from a lighthouse was visible in the distance.

"I, er, know it was your birthday last month so… this was my dad's camera and I want you to have it." The memory of Chloe handing her the camera manifested in the darkness for Max to see and relive it again. As she walked past it further towards the light other memories manifested along the way.

One of Chloe and her being busted by David in Chloe's room, one of them sitting on the bench near the lighthouse, one of them in the diner as they explored her powers for the first time, one of them at the junkyard at Chloe's hide-out. The memories manifested more frequently at this point.

Another one – of them walking on the rails, just after Max had saved Chloe from being run over by the train. One of them breaking into the principal's office and Max laughing her head off at the expanse of a dumbfound Chloe, who had tried everything she knew about lock-picking just for Max to show her the door hadn't been locked at all. One about the time they checked out the files on the principal's computer. One of them at the pool. Involuntarily Max had to smile as she remembered the look on Chloe's face when she had slowly stripped to her underwear and sung 'Wicked Game'. She pressed on. The light was closer and she could see that it indeed was the light of the lighthouse.

The next memory to manifest was of her wrapped in the arms of a sleeping Chloe as she was about to take a picture of them. It was promptly followed by the memory of Chloe daring her to kiss the punk-girl. It made her heart quiver for a moment.

A memory of them in Franks' RV, another of her returning to the day of William's death, of her singing for a paralyzed Chloe, just before kissing her for the first and the last time in this alternate universe – they all passed her as she slowly moved on, letting every scene play out before turning to face the next one.

The memory of the two women standing in the dark room, just after they had discovered the binders with the pictures of the various victims of the psychopathic teacher, was followed by the memory of them finding Rachel's body in the junkyard. The sorrow, helplessness and grief in Chloe's cries nearly brought the rocker-gal to her knees, as Chloe declared her love for the dead woman. She could feel that tears had started to run down her own cheeks, but still she pressed on as if pushed by and invisible force.

And then she was there, nearly at the lighthouse. She could see a scene that most definitely was not a memory. Chloe was helping her walk up to the lighthouse, pleading with her in an increasingly worried tone.

"Max, can you hear me? Max, come on now!" The blue-haired punk begged her as she practically dragged her towards the lighthouse. "Don't worry… we'll be ok."

' _It is time. Decide what you will do._ ' The rocker-gal could hear the voice in her head again, but this time it was speaking without malice. There was something there though. As if the voice had experienced it all already and now hoped that Max would make a choice that it had not been able to make. ' _Good luck._ ' She could hear it whisper faintly as she finally reached the image of Chloe helping her to move forward to the lighthouse.

* * *

-In the end/What I've done-

* * *

Thunder crashed as a lightning bolt shot through the sky. Her legs couldn't hold her up any longer and Max felt how she tumbled towards the ground. Chloe was right next to her.

"Max? Can you hear me? Please, say something!" The despair in the punk-girl's voice didn't go unnoticed by the rocker with the nose-piercing as she slowly picked herself up from the ground.

"Chloe? I-… I must have passed out… Sorry." She managed a weak smile.

"Oh, thank God… Don't you ever do that again, ok?" The blue-nette helped her up and squeezed her for a moment in a tight embrace before looking her in the eyes once more worried.

"I swear… but that nightmare… that hell… it was so real. God, Chloe, it felt so real, so horribly real…" She knew that the memory of it would haunt her for the rest of her life, but as the punk-girl's gaze wandered so did hers. It came to rest on the giant tornado that was racing towards the town below. "This is my storm. I caused this. I caused all of this…" It struck her then and there. "I changed fate and destiny so much that I actually did alter the course of everything. And all I created? Just death and destruction…" The words of her other self _were_ real after all… Had it not been for the punk-girl right next to her, holding her by the shoulders, she might have just fallen to her knees again. This was not bearable…

"Fuck all of that, ok? You were given a power. You didn't ask for it… and you saved me. Which had to happen, all of this did! Except for what happened to Rachel." Chloe said with as much conviction in her voice as she could muster. She could see how every word she uttered left a mark on the rocker-gal in front of her and how much her face dropped after she had spoken the name of her other best friend. "Without your power, we wouldn't have found her! Ok, so you're not a goddamn Time Lord, but you're Maxine Caulfield… and you're amazing…" She paused there as she saw the look of self-loathing and self-hatred appear on the young rockers' face again. How she hated that look! How she wanted it to go away… Why couldn't life just give them a break and let the tormented woman standing before her breath in life's beauty without the taint and hopelessness she had had to endure?

The blue-nette looked at the woman before her in silence as she finally came to a conclusion. A decision she had to make. She pulled out her wallet and reached for one of the pictures she had stored there.

"Max, this is the only way." Chloe held the photo out to her best friend. "You could use that photo to change everything right back to when you took that picture… All that would take is for me to… to…" Her voice trembled as she explained to the seemingly stunned rocker just what she had thought off.

"Fuck that! Are you insane?! No! You are my number one priority now! You are all that matters to me anymore." Chloe could see that Max was crying; rage had twisted the rocker-gal's beautiful face to a mask of pure anger at her own hopelessness.

"I know… You proved that over and over again… even though I don't deserve it." Chloe replied as she looked into the slightly younger woman's eyes. "I'm so selfish… not like my mom… Look what she had to give up and live through… and she did. She deserves so much more than being killed by a storm in a fucking diner! Even my step… father deserves her alive. There are so many people in Arcadia Bay who should live… way more than me…" For a moment her voice failed her as she realised just what it would take to erase the storm…

"Don't you dare say that! I didn't go through hell just to let life or whatever it is that is pulling the strings to take you away from me! I won't fucking trade you!" Max's voice was trembling with rage, but her face told something else. It asked a question – 'how can you expect me to trade the only one I love in this world anymore for this?'.

"But you're not trading me. Maybe you've just been delaying my real destiny… Look at how many times I've almost died or actually died around you! Look at what's happened in Arcadia Bay ever since you first saved me." The punk-girl unwillingly lashed out at the rocker-girl. The realisation of the possible truth behind her own words made her press on. "I know I've been selfish, but for once I think I should accept my fate… our fate… You finally came back to me this week, and… you did nothing but show me your love and friendship. You made me smile and laugh, like I haven't done in years… Wherever I end up after this… in whatever reality… all those moments between us were real, and they'll always be ours…" She steeled herself for what she was about to say, but nothing in the world could really make her feel less frightened about what was to come. "No matter what you chose, I know you'll make the right decision, Max."

"Chloe… I can't do this! I just can't do this!" The rocker-gal stared at her with a pleading look in her eyes. "How can you expect me to do this? I can't make this choice!" Her voice was so faint that Chloe had trouble hearing it over the howling wind.

"No, Max. You're the only one who can." The punk-girl said as she pulled the shorter woman into a tight hug. She could feel how desperately the young rocker-girl clung to her. It was almost painful. "You have to do this. You have to right this… For me… for Rachel… You'll make those fuckers pay for what they did to Rachel." It was as if lightning had struck the woman in her arms as Chloe felt her tense up immediately at the mentioning of Rachel. Had it been any other situation, the punk-girl with the blue hair might have actually thought this through and remembered just what the rocker-gal had been through, what she had told her she had done in order to ensure that Chloe herself would stay alive, what she had sacrificed to ensure that. She would have thought of just how much and in what a way the shorter woman with brown-red hair had declared her love for her, of what the rocker-girl meant to her. She would have realised her own feelings…

But this was not such a moment. Chloe was scared shitless of what was to come and become of her. Of her own fate, that she had decided to be. And in this moment of unspoken truth her mind had again settled on an older flame – not the bright one burning hot in her arms just now.

"Being together this week was the best farewell gift I could have hoped for. You're my hero, Max." She spoke into the shorter girl's ear, before she eased away a bit from the rocker-gal, just to be able to kiss her on tenderly on the lips. "I'll always love you…" Somehow it sounded hollow to her own ears, as if this was not the way it was supposed to be said, but she couldn't think of any other way or time where she'd say it. She let go of the woman in front of her. The look in Max's eyes was unreadable. "Now get out of here. Please, do it before I freak… And Max Caulfield – don't you ever forget about me!" She turned away, so that she wouldn't have to look at the crying rocker-gal, as she'd concentrate on the picture and… vanish? But there was no way back. She had decided her own fate. She had accepted it. Hadn't she?

Max stood there for a moment, but it seemed like it lasted an eternity, petrified by what just had happened, by all the wounds this short conversation had ripped up again, by everything she had experienced in this and all the other realities. ' _Everything – just for this? For a kiss and a half-assed goodbye?_ ' Rage boiled in her and for the first time in what seemed to be a long, long time she felt pure anger towards the person she loved. How could she just do what she just did? How could she expect Max to live through the thing she had hoped to change time and time again? How could she be so selfish to declare she loved her, just to go on about Rachel all the while? Rage threatened to consume her as she stared down and concentrated on the picture in her hands showing her own stunned face as she had just discovered her powers to alter time in the classroom at the beginning of the week. This last conversation with her best friend, with the one person she truly loved, had broken something in her that even she herself could not have broken. There was nothing left there… Nothing but a vicious fight between two feelings she felt for the punk with the blue hair right now. Love and hate. Yes, she would change fate. She would save the town. But if Chloe thought she'd let her off the hook so easily after what she had experienced and done just to have her heart ripped out by the person she loved nearly just like with Casandra (maybe even worse), she was badly mistaken. Her other self had been right hadn't it? Did Chloe even really care about her? Well, too bad. She'd see just how much she meant to the rocker-gal, and just how much she had just hurt her.

* * *

-Already Died-

* * *

"Hey, Chloe! What was the name of your best friend? I mean, former best friend?" The young woman with hazel eyes asked the punk-girl nonchalantly, just as she entered their secret hide-out.

"Wha-? Max fucking Caulfield! The loser of losers!" The blue-nette replied in an annoyed tone, when Rachel sat down next to her on the sofa. "Why do you have to bring her up right now? I was in such a good mood, you jerk." She punched the other woman softly on the shoulder, but smiled a bit to show that she was not really angry or anything.

To her surprise the young blonde woman seemed not to notice or not to care, as she intently studied a flyer that she held in her hands.

"Damn… This could be her, couldn't it? I mean, look! And you are the one that brings her up normally, so shut up." Rachel handed her the flyer she held so that the blue-haired woman could read the text on it. It was obviously an invitation to a rock or metal concert that would take place in a relatively nearby barn just this evening. She and Rachel had been to various parties during the years they knew each other, but never had there been an indie-rock/metal concert like this in such a hick-hole as Arcadia Bay. And now this… The flyer read that whoever would show this would get a discount on the entrance fee and the booze at the concert. There were would be a few bands playing of whom she'd never heard, but the main act was reserved for 'Mad Max and the Fortress of False Hope'. The name Max was there, but it still didn't explain why Rachel had thought it could be her once-best-friend. A friend that had abandoned her.

"This doesn't mean anything, Rach. It could be just about anyone with a similar name." The blue haired punk shrugged, though the mentioning of her former best friend had made her thoughtful.

"It's just that this completely badass looking girl transferred to Blackwell in February. Basically a month ago… Anyways, when I tried to ask around none of the students could really tell anything, just that she'd broken a guy's arm for touching her butt once. She's a total enigma." The young blonde woman explained as Chloe turned to look at her friend. "I know she lives in the dorms and that she plays guitar and that she can sing. I mean, who doesn't – I was just over to Juliet's room to get some stuff I had lent her, when I heard this gal rocking out in her room, like she didn't care who heard it or not. I have to admit it – it was top notch stuff. And when I asked around the teachers they said her name was Maxine and that she'd just transferred from Seattle."

This set the young punk on edge. Max had moved to Seattle all those years ago. Could it be that this really was her? Could her once-best-friend have returned and not given her a call or anything? A bitter laugh escaped her as she thought about it. ' _Of course it could be her. Her not calling me would just be proof of how little our friendship actually meant to her._ '

"We should go and check it out." The blonde woman next to her brought her thoughts back from the depth they had sunken to. "I mean, if it is her – you get to tell her everything you have to say. And if it isn't her – well, we get to hang out at the concert." She smiled dazzlingly and Chloe could only nod in agreement, even if she didn't really feel like meeting _that_ part of her life again.

"So, when do we go?" The punk-girl asked, still somewhat hoping that her friend would get the message and not insist on going. But knowing Rachel, she'd do about anything to sate her curiosity. There was a certain glint in the young blonde's eyes that Chloe knew only from the time they had first met all those years ago – it spoke of an undeniable, burning curiosity.

"Well, the flyer says that it'll start at nine, but the main act is on at eleven, so I'd say, let's just hang out 'till ten and then get to the Larsen's barn." Rachel answered as she leaned slightly against the young punk's shoulder, which made Chloe's heart skip a beat. ' _God, how can she be so oblivious to what she does to my heart?_ ' She thought letting her arm lazily sling around the blonde girls' shoulders. A quick glance at her cell-phone told the punk-girl that it was half-past nine actually. The concert had apparently already started, but that was ok. Her mom and step-dad would make a ruckus regardless of what time she'd be home, so there was no reason to go home until then anyways.

"Fine. Let's see how this plays out." She agreed somewhat reluctantly, but the closeness of the woman she felt so strongly for was somewhat soothing, so she let the thoughts slip and wander until there was nothing except the warm buzz of the weed and the low tune of the music the young blonde with the feather-earring had put on. And time flew by…

"You fucker's ready?" The front-woman of the three-people band asked in a low menacing, but undeniably clear and powerful voice, just as the pair entered the concert-area. A small cheer went up. As expected there were not a lot of people there, but then again – there were more people here than Chloe would have expected. "I said 'are you fucking ready?'!" This time the growl earned a loud cheer from most of the patrons present at the concert. Without another word or announcement the band started to play.

"Chloe! That's 'Rose' from A Perfect Circle!" Rachel grabbed her arm excitedly as they pushed forward through the thickening crowd at the stage at the other end of the barn. It never cased to amaze Chloe just how diverse music her best friend listened to and just how easily she could distinguish it by just a few tunes or riffs.

The voice of the singer rang through the barn with a power Chloe hadn't expected. Regardless of whether or not this was her once-best-friend singing, the punk-girl had to admit that the front-woman's voice was amazing and fitted the heavy, nearly violent riffs perfectly, changing from low-key and silent to rage-filled, loud and powerful. Just as they had reached the third row before the stage the song ended.

"I guess this is as good a moment as any for introductions, eh?" The front-woman asked the audience, which promptly cheered on her. Even Rachel whooped along. "We're Mad Max and the Fortress of False Hope and the next song is gonna be another cover from one of our favourite bands." With that the brief announcement was over and the drummer did a countdown before the front-woman, who also played guitar, set off an amazing riff that would dominate the whole song. It was 'Go with the flow' from Queens of the Stone Age as Rachel was quick to educate the slightly stunned Chloe.

Due to the lights in the back-ground it was hard to see the band playing, but some things the punk-girl could distinguish. The front-woman had short brown-red hair that hung loosely and slightly obscured her features. Chloe could see that the young woman rocking the stage had many tattoos as she sported a black sleeveless tank-top and ripped, black jeans and matching black leather boots. She had to admit – that gal up there on the stage looked like a total badass.

The cover was quickly followed by a two original songs form the band, before another set of covers was brought up. The calmer tones of Rammstein's 'Ohne Dich' and System of a Down's 'Lost in Hollywood' were followed by a heavy set of Tool's 'Hooker with a Penis' and Believers of Medicine's 'Rainbows are free'. Again a set of original songs were played and without her really wanting to, the punk-girl had started to dance and mosh with Rachel at her side. The tunes were intoxicating, shredding any bit of reluctance from the listeners as more and more people joined before the stage to create a real mosh pit. It was good. No, it was one hell of a rock-show the band delivered, as everyone that had stayed for the main act would hoop and whistle or shout at the end of each song, demanding more. And before she knew it – Chloe was one of those roaring the loudest for the band to continue. Rachel didn't stay far from the top loudest cheerers herself though.

A quiet, and frankly slightly unsettling (as the lights were considerably dimmed for the duration of the song, painting the front-woman in an eerie red all the while), 'If I had a heart' from Fever's Ray was followed by an explosive and powerful 'Alma Mater' from Moonspell.

"You like that?" The front-woman growled. The crowd went up in a cheer as one. "You like that, eh?" Again everyone cheered. "Fine! Let's rock people!" She gave the young woman at the keyboard, which was also playing the bass in most songs a signal and the woman started to play a tune.

None of the concert-goers knew the song, but they were immediately mesmerized by it, when the front-woman with the blue butterfly-tattoo and the black-red wolf-tattoo on her arms started to sing in a low, quiet, but emotion-filled voice 'How you turn my world, you precious thing!'. Chloe was amazed by the beauty and heartfelt pain the singer lent this song she performed to such an extent that she missed the part where the song actually ended and the crowd started to cheer. It was swiftly followed by another rather heart wrenching performance of 'Song to the Siren' in a version that Chloe and Rachel didn't know. It was followed by another original song and a cover of 'Wicked Game' by Chris Isaac, which truth to be told made Chloe's heart hammer in her chest, for in that moment not even the presence of the woman she loved could tear her eyes from the rocker on the stage, who had apparently hypnotized everyone in the barn with her voice and her slow rhythmic movements.

As the front-woman announced, a heavy, psychedelic trip awaited them with 'I'm the Mountain' from the band Stoned Jesus and a return to the teen years with a rather heavy 'In the end' from Linkin Park.

"Ok folks! This is it! Out last three cover songs! Let's trash this place!" The rocker-gal roared into the microphone, provoking another loud cheer from the concert-goers.

The first one was 'Sad but true' from Metallica, which was followed by a song from the German band Die Ärzte 'Nichts in der Welt'. As nearly no one in the crowd understood German its meaning was somewhat unclear for most of them, but somehow Chloe thought she got the gist of it, as its tune was rather melancholic. The last song was again in another language no one present understood, but it too felt heavy and bittersweet. As the drummer piped in, it was 'Baby' by the Ukrainian band Dakhabrakha.

The song ended and suddenly there was a quiet, which nothing seemed to be able to fill. At first it was a sole roar of one of the concert-goers, but in a heartbeat it had swelled to a deafening shout for more as nobody present wanted the band, which had proven to be top-class material, to quit their concert just yet.

"You want more?" The front-woman asked with a smile, but for some reason Chloe had the notion that she was rather sad and that the smile on the woman's face seemed rather strained… fake. The crowd answered as one with a cheer. Rachel whooped and hollered next to the somewhat thoughtful punk-girl.

"Well, what do you think? One more?" The rocker with the many tattoos turned to her band-mates, who nodded their agreement, grinning. "Ok guys and gals! One more!" As the roar of excitement died down, the woman with brown-red hair started to play.

"Yes it's been a long damn time, ain't been around cos' I work for my money!"

"I'd love to stay but I'm really runnin' short on time."

"And I hear you've got a new girl. She's like a new-age hippie, and she's rollin' in the money."

"No... I don't really hold a grudge. It's just hard for me..."

"I feel like you already died..."

"I feel like you already died..."

"I feel like you already died!..."

"I know it works out bad sometimes. I'm glad we're friends, cos' we're hateful as lovers."

"I walk away knowing everything I said was lies!"

"My heart and my mind have been all twisted..."

"I can't get no sleep... I found the lighting in the grass line!..."

"There's a blackness passing over me. I've been transformed..."

"I feel like you already died..."

"I feel like you already died..."

"I feel like you already died!..."

As the sound died away, the front-woman announced that it had been the song 'Already Died' by the band Eagles of Death Metal, which they had just preformed and that all rights for the covers belonged to the artists preforming the originals. The crowd cheered and whooped as the band bowed before it and went to the backstage area in a small section of the barn which had been shut-off from the rest of it by thick, heavy curtains.

Chloe felt like she'd been struck by lightning as she looked towards the direction in which the band disappeared.

' _It's-… It's her! It really is Max!_ ' she could hardly believe what she had seen, what she had experienced. Throughout this last song the front-woman of the band had looked at her, directly at her, singing every syllable with such an intensity and emotion it threatened to burst the punk-girls' heart, but it had been only the moment when the lights went full on and the band bowed before the cheering crowd, that she finally recognised her once-best friend. A thought shot through her mind. ' _Why was she crying at the end?_ '

"Man, that was amazing! And can you believe that? This badass rocker is going to the same Academy as we do… well, me for most of the part, but hell!" Rachel's eyes were glowing as she dragged the still stunned Chloe towards a corner of the barn where booze was being served. "The songs! The riffs! It was just perfect! And the emotions she put in them! It was as if she'd sing into one's very heart!" The blonde woman in the black leather jacket went on. "Damn, this was so great! Eh, Chloe?... Erm… Chloe? Are you there? Hello-o! Earth to Chloe, please respond." It was only now that they had reached their destination and Rachel was about to order some beer when she noticed the look on her friend's face. The punk with blue hair seemed to be totally out of it.

"That's her, Rachel. That's- that's Max." The weight and meaning behind the young punk-girls' words hit her like a hammer.

"Holy shit!" She looked at her friend wide-eyed, before looking at the direction of the back-stage area and then back at her friend. "Do you know what this means? You can clear it all up! This is your chance to confront her! I know you'd talk to her at the Academy as well, but I have no clue what classes she has or what she does in her free time. Well, except to rock the dorms."

"Rach… I… I don't know if this is really the time we should do this. I mean… I'm not sure I'm ready…" Something about her former best friend's drastically changed attire and demeanour had sown doubts in the punk-girl's mind, which were now fighting for the upper hand with the pent up anger at the person, which abandoned her so many years ago and didn't even notify her that she was back in town... There probably was a reason for it, but… who was she to tell?

"Chloe, we have to do this. You know it will gnaw on you just more the more time passes." The blonde woman in front of her crossed her arms before her chest, but what she'd just said was quite logical. She knew how Chloe thought after all…

"Alright, but… will you keep an eye out for me? Just in case things get a bit more 'touchy-feely' and not in the kind way?" The blue-nette managed a weak smile, which was promptly returned by Rachel's radiant one in turn.

"You bet. I've got you covered." The blonde woman said with affection and determination in her voice as she placed a hand on Chloe's shoulder. She grinned. "Plus, I know a way into the back-stage area which doesn't require us to get past those goons guarding it."

They snuck out of the side doors of the barn and circled around it, hoping to attract as little attention as possible from the other concert-goers that still lingered around the barn. It was just as they reached the corner of the back-building of the barn that they heard somebody argue in raised voices. They looked at each other in silent agreement before one ducked and the other stretched so that they could both peer around the edge of the building.

A bit further away they saw the young rocker, which by Chloe's words, was her former best friend Max, as she argued with a woman none of them recognised.

"Max, you have to believe me! I didn't know what Matthew and the girls were up to! I swear I didn't know that they had targeted you just because I got involved with you!" The woman pleading with Max was absolutely gorgeous. Even though it was relatively dark, the single light-bulb above the back-entrance to the barn shone enough light on the pair so that Chloe and Rachel could see them just about well enough. The girl that had grabbed Max's arm at the elbow was a bit taller than Max herself, maybe about as tall as Chloe, but the rocker-gal was clearly more muscular. It appeared that Max had been just about to change into something different as she was now standing before the other woman in just her jeans and a sports-bra, thus exposing her rather ripped body. ' _She has a six-pack…_ ' A small voice in Chloe's mind noted as the punk-girl stared at the scene before her.

"I don't have to believe jack-shit, you cunt!" With a violent tug the rocker freed her hand from the grasp of the woman with waist-length raven-black hair. Even from this distance the two women hiding could see the dangerous fire in the rocker-girls' eyes. It seemed the black-haired woman saw it too as she involuntarily took a small step backwards. "Yeah, that's right. I know about all the shit you pulled. Just about how you used me!" Max's voice was heavy with barely supressed rage. "Oh! You thought I didn't know? Well, maybe you shouldn't have told everything to Martha and the others, hm? Maybe Matthews' thugs should have just slit my throat instead of playing with their food, huh? What is it, bitch? What?! Just what did you hope to accomplish by coming here, Casandra?" The rocker-gal was nearly screaming, but didn't seem be bothered if anyone heard her. The other woman was visibly trembling. Was it due to fear?

"Max, please! That wasn't me! I swear it! Please, I swear it, it wasn't me!" The taller woman's voice was barely audible as she was fighting for control over her voice in order not to break down in uncontrollable sobs. "I love you, Max! I always have! Since the first day I saw you! I swear I'd never do that. I'd never hurt you…" By the light being slightly reflected on the taller girl's cheeks Chloe and Rachel could tell that she was crying. She reached out tentatively towards the rocker-gal, but the young rocker with brown-red hair stepped back and held her arms up.

"Stop-… Just stop lying, Cas… You already hurt me and you denying it being your fault isn't going to make it disappear. You hurt me so bad I-… I'm wondering why I'm even talking to you…" The Max said and though it had been so many years since they had last met, Chloe could tell that the woman standing in front of the short rocker-gal had indeed hurt her former best friend in a way that would render her unable to redeem herself. "I loved you Cas." The rocker-gal's words hit like a punch to the gut and made Chloe's head spin. "And you betrayed me. Traded me. Hurt me." There was anger in the shorter woman's voice, but the low tone she spoke in swung heavy with sadness, hurt and pain. "Whatever was there once in my heart it has been long since replaced by hate for you… Nothing you say is not going to change a thing. Go home. I don't want to see your face ever again." With that the rocker-girl turned on her heels and went inside the barn again, leaving the taller woman alone as she fell to her knees and now was sobbing uncontrollably.

' _Jesus, just what has happened to you, Max?_ ' Chloe wondered as her gaze was locked on the already closed back-door to the barn. This definitely wasn't the Max she'd known so long ago, even if she was unmistakably the same girl from all those years before.

"Come on, Che. Let's see if we can get to know a little more about what just happened here." She heard Rachel's voice as the other woman slid past her and went over to the black-haired woman kneeling in the cold grass. As if moved by an unseen force the punk-girl moved along and helped Rachel help the unknown woman, who went by the name Casandra, up. This day had turned from annoying, to awesome, to strange, to completely crazy in the course of only a few hours. She needed answers.

' _Just what has happened to you, Max?_ ' The stunned and shocked punk-girl wondered all the while they brought the crying woman to her pickup-truck and drove back to the town as the barn was about to get closed. This was nothing like she'd expected her first get-together with her former best friend to turn out like…

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **Hey, guys and gals. This one's up earlier than expected 'cause I took a day for myself and ended up returning to this next piece so often in my thoughts that I decided '** ** _Ah, fuck it! Let's give it a go!_** **'. I hope you'll enjoy it. Well, as for the end of it – you can guess that this isn't going to be an easy 'just as the game did' end. So yeah… how you'll like just where this is going to. :D**

 **With that said - cheers and have a great rest of the weekend ;)!**

 **Yours,**

 **Bovragor**


	13. Chapter 13

**WARNING:**

 **All characters and the story upon which this fanfiction is based are property of Dontnod Entertainment and Square Enix. I don't own anything.**

 **As this is my first story to be published here, I will be happy about every reviews - both good and bad as only so I can know what I have to improve. :)**

 **Rated M for crude and strong language at times, violence and mature content.**

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-Dead Memories-

* * *

It was already half-past two in the morning when the three young women arrived at the 'Rose's Friends' pub. The black-haired woman hadn't said anything over the whole ride there and neither had Rachel nor Chloe pressed her to say anything even if they were burning with curiosity. They settled in a booth relatively close to the door as there was quite frankly no telling if they'd stay here for some time or if they'd just get going soon anyways. This whole night was crazy and Chloe couldn't help but think that it would get a whole lot stranger before the sun was up again. ' _I mean… for all I know I'm sitting in front of Max's ex-girlfriend or something along those lines… I mean – shit! What am I even supposed to think or make of that?_ ' The knot in her gut tightened at the thought of the coming conversation.

"So, erm… You feeling any better now… uhm… sorry, didn't catch your name there." Rachel had ordered them drinks and was not trying to strike up a conversation with the mysterious woman on the opposite side of the booth. A small part of Chloe cringed at this, as they had eavesdropped on the woman with raven-black hair and her former best friend, but this was probably as good a start for a possibly heavy conversation as any. Besides that, she had to admit – Rachel sure knew how to play out her pick-up lines, even if that set her teeth on edge…

"Yeah… not really… I-… I'm Cassandra. Cassandra Thorn." The woman looked up at them and for a moment Chloe and Rachel were left speechless as now they saw the beauty of the woman from a much closer distance and in a better light than at either the concert or in the pickup-truck. She had emerald-green, clear eyes, even if they were somewhat reddened from the crying. They stood in sharp contrast with her pale skin and her red lips, which seemed to be natural as from this distance even a girl like Chloe, who didn't really use any make-up or anything could tell – she wasn't wearing any lip-gloss or anything like that. Her features were delicate and were it not for her height she'd have been the perfect, living embodiment of a classic porcelain-doll. "Thank you for helping me, but… who are you and were you doing back there anyways?" There was a slight suspicious glint in the woman's eyes though it was warring with something similar to… hope?

"Well, Cassandra, it's nice to meet you. I'm Rachel and this is my best friend Clara." Rachel was the first to regain her senses. "Aaand… to answer your question – it's kind of complicated. You see, we actually had hoped you might be able to explain to us what was going on there, for we heard shouting and though someone was in trouble and when we arrived, we saw the lead singer of the band slam the door shut and you falling to the ground… so yeah, there you have it." It was a good lie for a hasty lie, that is, but… ' _Clara? Really?_ ' Chloe caught herself just at the right time as to not roll her eyes. It didn't seem the young woman in front of them really bought it though as the silence stretched for a rather uncomfortable moment afterwards. It was only another moment of silence, when the woman seemed to decide on what to do and what to tell, that she let out a heavy sigh and started to speak in a strained voice.

"It's-… Thanks again for helping me out, but I don't really think I should get you two involved. I know the lead-singer of the band quite well, or at least I thought I knew her… and this really is a matter between us… No offense, but I don't know if I should be telling you any more than that." Cassandra took a sip of the drink that was brought her by the bartender after he had served the other two women their drinks, her eyes still slightly teary, as if she couldn't really hold the tear back, but had enough control to not let them flow freely just yet.

"Listen, Cassandra. That is totally fine, really. It's just that I'm a little bit concerned what all of this is on about. That scene seemed so random and out of place after that awesome concert that… I just don't know. You sure you're going to be ok?" Rachel spoke in a soft, calming manner – one that Chloe knew all too well – she could wiggle her way out of quite some tricky situations with this tone. It really worked. At least on her it did, when she had her rage on… Most of the times it did anyway... But the distraught woman before them showed no signs of calming down at all, but rather seemed to sink further into the despair she felt at that moment, as she absentmindedly fumbled the pendant of the necklace she wore before tugging it back beneath the dark-grey shirt she was wearing.

"She has changed so much…" The sentence came out as a barely audible whisper as the woman's eyes focused on a random point on the table between her and the other two women. If she noticed the silent exchange of looks between Rachel and Chloe at this moment she gave no sign of it. "And it's all my fault… my fault… if only I had been more honest with them… if only I hadn't been such a coward…"

"Wait. What're you talking about?" Rachel asked cautiously, hoping that the tone of her voice wouldn't startle the seemingly half-dazed, half-absentminded woman, who had slowly started to curl a lock of her raven-black hair around her fingers.

"I should have broken up with Mat then and there… the moment I saw her, I knew. I knew I wanted her… so bad…" She didn't even lift her eyes, but continued to talk in a half-audible mumble. "I should have told Martha to stay out of it all. To quit her petty games… but I didn't… And I hurt her…" As silent tears started to trace their way down the beautiful girl's cheeks, her face contorted to a fierce scowl wrought by self-loathing. "If I only wasn't such a coward… She got hurt so bad and what did I do? I ran from her at the moment she needed me most!"

"Whoa, whoa! Easy there, black-cat." It was only now that Chloe noticed that Rachel had grabbed the taller woman's hands as she had unconsciously started to dig her nails into her own palms. Chloe had no doubt that if it wasn't for the blonde girl's fast reaction, there'd be blood flowing already. "Easy…" She could only watch on in silence as the girl with the blue-earring hopped over the table of the booth and settled next to the black-haired woman, trying to sooth her, but it didn't seem to help at all.

"But there is nothing there!" Cassandra cried out, her voice a hoarse rasp, as if strained by unimaginable pain. "Nothing! And nothing I do or say will ever make up for what I have done to her! And now? I'm still a coward! I still run from her even when I had the opportunity to tell her everything…" She sobbed pitifully, suddenly desperately clinging to the blonde woman, who seemed perplexed and quite shocked by this explosion of emotions. It was quite clear she was having a very hard breakdown… "She hates me…" Her chest heaved laboriously as if she was having problems drawing breath. "God, the only person I ever truly loved hates me… and it is all my fault!"

"Hey, Cassandra! Cassandra, look at me." Rachel took the other woman's face in her hands, forcing her to look the blonde girl straight in the eyes. To focus on her. "Cassandra, I want to help you, but you've got to calm down first and tell me what is going on. Please, Cassandra. You can trust me." The words rolled like thick honey from Rachel's mouth and Chloe couldn't help but think of the times when the woman with the blue-earring had done the same for her – held her close, calmed her down, soothed her 'till she was able to talk without breaking down again… And this time it worked. The raven-haired woman collapsed on Rachel's shoulder and cried uncontrollably for what seemed to be the better part of an hour before she finally calmed down or at least her eyes were so sore from all the crying that she had no tears left.

It took her quite some time 'till she had gathered her thoughts enough to talk to the blue-nette and her friend again, but she did talk.

"It was nearly exactly a year and three month ago, when all of it happened." She began in a quiet voice. "Max and I, we- we were going out steady for two month at that point, even if we did so secretly, and I had promised her I'd break up with Mat, my boyfriend for two years at that time… but I didn't. I just didn't know how. It was nearly Christmas Eve and I knew it was a hard time for her, especially what she had been through, so I wanted to make it special to her. You know, like turn the bitter into sweet." For the faintest of moments there was a glint of a smile in the black-haired girl's eyes as she recalled a particular moment of the memory, but it disappeared as soon as it had come. "She hated Seattle with such a passion, so I wanted to show her it was not that kind of a hellhole she believed it to be. I brought her to an amusement park and we had so much fun there. God, I just loved the way she'd laugh at the oddest of thing. Like it was all new to her over and over again." A wry smile graced her red lips and for some reason the punk-girl felt jealous of the woman before her at that moment. In spite of the situation they were in, there was this small teetering voice inside her that hissed and snarled at the beautiful woman at that moment, waiting with a perverse eagerness for that particular romantic scene to turn sour. She didn't know she wouldn't have to wait long. "It was getting late and I had actually intended to take her out to a romantic dinner in a fancy restaurant, but she wouldn't have it. She didn't want me to spoil her in any way, saying that being there for her was enough… So we went to a small goth-café I liked instead. I had never seen her that happy. I kissed her then and although it hadn't been our first kiss, it felt so much more special. I was so mesmerized by the whole evening that I didn't even notice, what I thought to be my best friend, Martha taking pictures of us there smooching…"

Rachel shot her friend a glance, looking at the punk-girl's face that had frozen solid in an unreadable mask. ' _I never thought I'd be the one to quote Tropic Thunder in my head, but damn… I have a bad feeling about this._ ' Still… Even if she knew she was the last person to have a right to be jealous, the reaction Cassandra's story had coaxed from her best friend made her feel like it, even if only for a bit.

"She confronted me the very next day in the girl's restroom at school. Asking what 'all that shit was on about'. If I didn't have enough with Matthew so that I had to play around with a 'motherless bitch'…" Cassandra started to fidget with the pendant of her necklace again. It was only now that Rachel noted that it was actually a fang from a wolf that had been made into a pendant. The feeble tone of the voice of the black-haired woman next to her brought her thoughts back to the here and now again. "And I lied. Out of fear. Out of cowardice. I lied for my own sake and not to save her… I made up a story of how she had tried to seduce me, but I only played along so I could use her. I told her that I'd use her for a while and then dump her into the gutter she'd crawled out from. I told her to forget about this, 'cause it was already high time I dump that rocker from her high horse. I told her to keep her mouth shut about it. And I actually thought it was done with that. I knew she could be nasty, but I had never known just how false and vicious Martha could be… Just how far she'd go for her own amusement. And my lie provided her with everything she needed…" The sharp intake of breath made Rachel pivot her attention from the woman next to her to the blue-haired punk on the opposite side of the booth. The expression on her face hadn't changed, but the glimmer in her eyes spoke volumes. She might have been angry at Max for abandoning her all those years ago, but she couldn't lie about how much her former best friend still meant to her.

"Martha cooked up her own twist of the tale and sent the pictures she'd taken to Mat. And he went crazy… I only caught wind of it, when another friend of Martha and me asked me if I was the mastermind behind the whole fun-show after the classes would be over, but I didn't know what it was on about until it was too late. I only learned on the next day that Mat had convinced some local drop-out's he knew, petty thugs actually, to roughen Max up and Martha had even thrown the idea in the ring that they might have their way with her. I had wondered why Max hadn't contacted me at least once during the whole day, but at that point I went near mad with worry and anger. I hadn't received any messages, any phone calls. Nothing. I tried to contact Max's dad, but he wouldn't pick up. I panicked really and I went to confront Mat. And it was just at that moment I wanted to ask him just what he'd done, when Max showed up in the classroom we were in. The look on her face… the way she asked me 'why'… the way she just looked at me… there was no accusation, no anger, nothing but the desperation of wanting to hear it wasn't true… the way she looked at me when Mat started to laugh and tell her I had he and I had planned this all along… the way she silently begged me to deny it when I ran from the classroom without looking back… when I ran from her… I didn't show myself at school. I didn't contact Martha or anyone. I broke up with Mat and transferred to a different school still in the same month… I ran as far as I could from just what I had done…" Her voice broke there. It was barely a whisper, but in the shocked silence that had followed her story, the woman in the dark-grey shirt and the leather jacket could have been shouting for all it mattered, for in this silence her next words sounded like an earthshattering cry. "It was only later when I accidentally met an old classmate that I heard that Max had actually barely survived the encounter with those thugs… they had hurt her… hurt her bad… because of me… Had it not been for her Muay Thai skills, she might have died back there… And she had fought them off just for me to run from her… About two month later, when I finally had gathered enough courage to contact Max's dad, he told me Max had tried to kill herself on that Christmas Eve… He told me to never contact them again…"

"You bitch…" Chloe stared at the woman with emerald eyes. Her face didn't betray anything at first, but as silent tears started to roll down the beautiful girl's face again, it contorted to a mask of unbridled anger. Hearing about her former friends' misery was quite too much. "You fucking bitch!" In the blink of an eye Rachel had stood up and caught her hand only inches away from the black-haired woman's face.

"Chloe, no!" Rachel barely knew why she did, what she did in that moment. She was as shocked and stunned as her enraged friend. Even if throughout the years of knowing Chloe she'd grown to be a bit jealous of the friendship the now-rocker and the punk-girl had shared once, this was definitely some heavy stuff. But something told her that letting this escalate any further would not end well. It was a gut-feeling and something a bit more. Like she _knew_ this would not end well, if she didn't put a stop to this fast. But then another realisation hit her, when she saw the sudden vivid change of expressions on the black-haired woman's face. ' _Shit! Me and my fucking mouth.'_

"Chloe?" The Cassandra repeated the name staring wide-eyed at the slightly stunned blue-nette, who hadn't expected such a reaction from the woman in front of her. For in merely a few heartbeats this beautiful face had contorted in an expression of unmasked hatred.

"Fuck!" Rachel cursed as she tried to step in between the two women, as the taller black-haired beauty had slipped out of the booth and now was standing only a few feet away from the dumbfound punk-girl. She had no idea what was going on, but she knew she had just fucked this up big time.

"Chloe as in Chloe Price?" Cassandra asked the blue-haired punk-girl. The flabbergasted punk managed a nod and a half-clear 'uhum', before the beautiful woman before her slapped her hard across the face. If Chloe had expected anything – this was most definitely not it. Still, her instincts reacted for her and she was about to return the 'kindness' of this Cassandra-woman, but Rachel was already in place between them glaring daggers at both of them and struggling to hold the once again enraged punk from tackling the black-haired offender.

"What the hell?!" The punk-girl demanded angrily as she struggled against Rachel's grip on her hands. She glared at the woman in front of her, but was somewhat surprised to see the look of utter disgust and hate on the other woman's face. Cassandra was still trembling somewhat, but Chloe could tell that this time around it was caused by anger and not by fear or any other emotion like back at the barn. "Rachel, move!" Their small struggle was cut short, when the girl in the leather jacket and the dark-grey shirt spoke again. Her voice had changed completely. There was no hint of the down-cast, broken girl they had just seen. Instead it was harsh and cold like a metal-whip.

"You have no idea of what _you_ did, do you? You, who hurt her in the first place! I might not have the right to call Max my lover or even my friend anymore and I might not even be worthy of breathing the same air as she does, but if there is someone who is even less worthy of that then it's you, _Chloe Price_." The way Cassandra spat her name made it sound like the worst insult one could ever imagine. This gave the hot-headed blue-nette pause. Just what was she on about? After just telling what she herself had done to her former best friend, acting so high and mighty only enraged the punk-girl more.

"That's not true! She abandoned me! If anyone is not worthy of calling them _my_ friend it's _her_! Not the other way around!" Chloe snapped back, finally tugging herself free from Rachel's grasp and coming to stand only inches away from the black-haired woman. It was a wonder she had not punched her already. She didn't notice how Rachel came to stand by her side just a heartbeat later.

"Yeah, right." The woman before her looked Chloe directly in the eyes and she snorted derisively, hugging herself clearly knowing just what her own starting position in this new chapter of the conversation was, but knowing something too, which made her continue regardless of any possible retaliation from the furious punk. "Did you ever ask if she wanted to move? Did you ever call or write her, when she was alone in that new big city without any friends, without a friendly face around? No. You told her to go to hell, to never show her face before you ever again." She spat at the punk-girl, her voice dripping with venom. And every word felt like a searing dagger had been driven into her gut, for what the she said was true. Her memories returned to days from her past she thought nearly forgotten. Chloe had lashed out at the timid girl, who had begged her for forgiveness all those years ago, when her parents decided to move just weeks after her own father had died. She had been the one to declare that if Max would move she'd be dead to Chloe and might as well die for all she cared. Cassandra was right – she'd been cruel to Max… Still, the emerald-eyed girl continued and what she said next hit harder, way harder than what she had said before. "Where were you when her mother died? Where were you when her dog was run over and died in her arms? Where were you when she went through all that hell, just to be cast into the next one? Where were you when-…" Cassandra stopped herself, but as the stunned Chloe looked at the woman standing before them in silent shock, Rachel could only think that it was only because the next thing she was about to say was about what she had revealed to them and for that particular episode she couldn't really blame others. Still, despite the malice in Cassandra's voice and words, one thought manifested in Rachel' mind at that moment. ' _She really does love Max… despite everything that is going on or what she has done, she still loves her._ ' The hurt and guilt in the taller woman's eyes were evident as she spoke with a slightly trembling voice that had somewhat lost its edge, as if she'd have problems to control her own emotions, but finally had wrung them down enough to stand up straight, even if only for a moment. "No, Chloe Price. If I am the one who broke her heart again – then you're the one that ripped it out and shattered into the tiny fractures and shambles I so desperately had wanted to mend, before my own stupidity and cowardice destroyed it all... You are no friend of Max. You are one of the reasons, if not the main reason, for her being the broken person she has become." Without another word the black-haired beauty pushed past the two dumbfounded woman and disappeared out of the door of the bar.

In spite of the evening having played out as it had and with all those bombs having fallen right on them Rachel was quite happy for the fact that she'd instinctively moved to stand next to her best friends side, for just as the door of the bar closed, Chloe collapsed as if struck by lightning.

* * *

-Aenima (the Seattle/Arcadia Bay cover)-

* * *

"Chloe! Hey, girlfriend, snap out of it." The first thing Chloe saw as she regained her senses was Rachel snapping her fingers before her eyes. For anyone who'd see the scene from the side Rachel would have appeared slightly annoyed or a little bit amused, but Chloe knew her friend well and could tell by the look in the blonde woman's eyes that she was deeply worried. "Shit, Che… You actually gave me quite a scare there…" It was only now as she propped herself up that the slightly dazed punk-girl realised that they were still at the bar, though by now it was nearly completely empty, spare for one or two patrons snoring in their respective corners of the otherwise empty room.

"Fuck…" The blue-nette asked though by now the memory of today's events had started to resurface through the slight fog that clouded her mind.

"You can say that again. Shit, this is so fucked up." Rachel helped her up to her feet, holding her by the elbow. The worried look in her eyes was still there. "Chloe… I-" She bit her tongue to prevent herself from saying anything as first of all, because she didn't really know what to say. What they had heard just a few moments ago had been not only heavy stuff – it had been earthshattering stuff. A merciless avalanche. It was true, that Cassandra had hurt the rocker-girl, who had been once her best friends best friend, but what she had revealed about Max's life before that had been quite a shock, but what kind of shock it must have been for Chloe, who had held a grudge against the girl she believed to have lived a wonderful life while she herself had gone through all kinds of shit and drama… And now it had been revealed that it had hit the rocker-gal just as hard as her, if not even harder… ' _How does one react in such a situation? What am I supposed to do, in such a situation?_ ' The second reason why she refrained from saying anything was because she saw the tears running down the punk-girl's cheeks. A mirthless smile hushed over the blonde girl's lips as she embraced the blue-nette and cradled her until the other woman had stopped crying. ' _Somehow I feel like my shirt is not gonna dry as soon as I'd hoped, as it seems I've become the shoulder to cry on for everyone today…_ '

"Come on, Punk-Queen of Arcadia Bay; let's get you out of here." Rachel muttered soothingly to the down-cast woman as she steered her out of the bar, after having left the change for the drinks on the table, and supported her all the way to the blue-nette's pickup-truck though this time, she'd be the one driving it and Chloe - the passenger.

The drive to Chloe's house was somewhat sobering as the dark, empty streets rushed by and so did time. None of them spoke of what they had heard or experienced. They actually didn't speak at all, for both young women had submerged in their own deep, dark thoughts. By the time they arrived at Chloe's house it was already nearly four o'clock in the morning.

' _Damn… Tomorrow is going to be a long day…_ ' Rachel thought gingerly as she helped the seemingly worn-out blue-haired punk up to her room and fell on the bed right next to her. She kicked off her sneakers and rolled over to huddle close to her best friend. ' _No. Tomorrow is going to be a real bitch._ ' She corrected herself as she hugged the blue-haired woman, who slightly trembled under her embrace.

That night Rachel didn't sleep very well, or at all to be truthful, for by the time the punk-girl had finally fallen asleep it was already time for them to get ready so that they'd manage to get to the Academy on time. The fact that she'd been thinking and trying to sooth the distraught Chloe right until that time didn't really do any good either as her worries just kept piling up. Yes, they had experienced all kinds of things together. Both good and bad, but this was clearly beyond her best friends' wildest and worst imagination. She had no doubt the punk-girl would come to grips with what they had learned yesterday, but knowing how the blue-nette's head worked, she'd be torn between stubborn self-righteous anger at the woman she thought had abandoned her and fierce, cruel self-loathing for having herself abandoned if not outright destroyed their friendship.

' _There's no way in hell, I'll just stand by. Not on my watch._ ' The blonde woman thought in grim determination, as she quickly scribbled a note, which she left on Chloe's desk, before taking the still sleeping woman's car-keys and sneaking out of the room without putting her sneakers on.

A quick stop at her own parent's house and the gas station later she was on her way to the Academy. A plan had slowly formed in her mind during the early morning hours which she planned on following through with.

' _First – coffee, then – Max Caulfield._ ' She noted to herself mentally as she walked briskly towards one of the coffee-machines that were distributed in the hallways of Blackwell. The plan was maybe not the best one, but she'd be no friend if she'd let Chloe get the full broadside of what was brewing itself together.

She had missed the morning classes due to her small stop at her home, but this gave the blonde girl with the blue feather-earring the time to mentally steel herself for the laborious task of finding out what classes the mysterious former best friend of Chloe had, what she did and where to find her, for after all – she would have to have a serious talk with the woman in order to avert whatever worst possible outcomes this whole thing could have.

Still, it would be a 'one thing at the time'-task. She still needed to keep her scores high enough to keep the scholarship, so even if her mind was hell bent on the goal she had set herself with regard of helping Chloe, she still needed to attend the next class. Luckily it was nothing she dreaded, but rather enjoyed – photography. As an aspiring model herself it was quite interesting for her to learn all the things about the 'other side of the same lens' as their photography teacher used to say.

Rachel hated to admit it, but the prospect of attending the class of this particular teacher put a slight skip in her walk and in her heart. He had something about him that made him appealing, and it was not only because he was a handsome and popular modern photography artist by his own right. He was somewhat mysterious himself and seemed to know quite much about things no other person in this small town seemed to know. They had had quite some few talks already and despite her already having a thing going on with the gruff but in his own way charming Frank Bowers, she would be lying if she'd deny being not only a little infatuated by the teacher. She knew he sometimes went to the Vortex Club parties Nathan organized and she actually thought about chatting him up at one of the next parties... She knew those particular thoughts were neither fair to Frank, nor to Chloe, whom she knew harboured feelings for her which were by far something else than just friendship. It was not like she didn't return the feelings of the older man, or wouldn't feel something along the lines for the punk-girl too, but… she couldn't really help herself… A thought passed through her head as she got near the classroom of the art teacher, which made her smile a little.

' _Nathan. He might know something or at least someone his father has hired might know something about this mysterious young rocker. Or I could ask Mr Jefferson if he knows something._ ' The smile lingered for a while longer as another though crossed her mind. ' _It seems I'm surrounded by mysterious people of late._ ' She was right on time for class and would still have a short moment to talk to the teacher or the young Prescott before class would start.

She still had the smile on her face, when she entered the classroom and already wanted to greet the teacher standing next to his desk near the blackboard, when she spotted the brown-red haired rocker-gal sitting at one of the desks farther back, idly doodling something in her notebook. She was so stunned by the sight that she didn't notice the young blonde with short hair, who had just greeted her.

"Hello-o? Rachel? Don't you think it's kinda rude to just stand there when your friend greets you?" The woman crossed her arms before her chest and drew her red, with lip-gloss shining lips to a pout, but the look in her eyes betrayed that she didn't take any offence in Rachel's odd behaviour.

"Vicky! Hey! Sorry. I just- I just spaced out there for a short moment it seems." Rachel couldn't shake off the feeling that the rocker-girl in the back of the class was watching her every move, even if she seemed to be completely immersed in her own drawings.

"'Tis ok, Rachel. I get it. You too were wondering about this new pretentious viper in the back, right?" The young blonde turned slightly to glare daggers at the rocker in the leather-jacket.

"Whoa, Vicky. Don't you think you're lying on quite thick here?" The bile in the other girl's voice made the blonde with the feather-earring take the rockers' side. Had she not heard quite the things about her just a few hours ago? And the rocker-gal really _did_ seem like somebody, whose good side you want to stay on.

"You haven't heard it, have you?" Victoria Chase raised an eyebrow at the slightly stunned woman before sighing and setting on to elaborate what she meant. "She broke Dan's arm just the other day for touching her butt. And look at how she's dressed. Pretending to be some sort of rebel against the system or something. With her around I'd even prefer that punk Chloe to here in her stead. No offence. I know you're friends with her. But seriously, have you even heard the ghastly music she's blasting through the hallways of the dorms? Oh, right. You're not staying in the dorms… Anyways, what I mean is – her room is nearly next to mine and on some nights I can't even get an eye closed because of her being so loud."

"Vicky, seriously. It's Dan's fault for messing with her really. I mean, I'd probably do the same if I was in her place." She smiled her trademark smile at the woman in the black and beige dress, hoping to somewhat dowse the woman's temper, which she knew could get her at odds with most people rather quickly and she didn't really cherish the prospect of having a hard time to approach the rocker-gal because Victoria couldn't handle her own emotions. "Besides, she really is a bonafide rocker. I heard her play yesterday and even though I know it's not the kind of music you normally listen to, I can guarantee – you would have loved it too." She slung an arm around the still slightly pouting woman's shoulders as she steered her towards their seats, which happened to be right next to each other. "So maybe, I don't know. Maybe try to be nice to her?" Rachel's expression took on somewhat of a pleading edge to it, which seemed to finally mellow the other woman's persistent scowl.

"Fine. I'll try to ignore her, but if she starts anything – I'm not responsible for what happens afterwards." Victoria said as she sat down at her desk and started to unpack her bag, placing everything neatly on the desk before her.

"Just… stick to ignoring, ok?" The woman with the shoulder-length blonde hair graced the other with a slightly sterner look and received a 'Yeah, whatever' in return, which in Victoria Chase's vocabulary meant – 'agreed'. That the best she could get from the posh girl at the moment.

"Hey, Rachel! You coming to the next party?" The young man in the red sports-jacket greeted her with raising his hand as he threw his bag quite carelessly next to his desk and slumped into his chair.

"Hi, Nathan! Yeah, I think so. Though I still have to see how the week turns out 'till then." She smiled at the young man. She wouldn't go as far as to say he was a friend of hers, but he was not so bad. He had his flaws sure and a very short fuse, but what was to be expected of the son of such a magnate as Prescott Senior? He was friendly enough and he and Victoria were quite good pals, so there was no reason to be needlessly rude towards him.

"You went to the hell-raiser concert yesterday?" He smirked a bit, teasing her in a well-meant way.

"You bet. It was seriously great! Maybe you should try coming to the next one too. I bet you'd find it to your liking." She replied with a smirk on her own, well knowing that it was most definitely not the music the young man listened to and receiving a dismissive wave of his hand and a headshake from him as an answer. She shrugged and already wanted to walk over to him and chat him up about the small favour she intended to ask him for, when the bell rang and Mr Jefferson announced the starting of the class.

"As most of you have surely noticed by now, our little group of possible future prodigies in photography has grown. Max, please, if you could come and introduce yourself to the others briefly?" He said and the sound of his voice was like velvet to Rachel's ears. ' _Jesus… I really do have a crush on him, don't I?_ ' She supressed the urge to smile like a loon. "Most of you will probably know that Max here transferred to Blackwell just about a month ago, but it was only now that it was finally confirmed which classes she would attend to. I kind of am proud to say that another straight-A student has joined our small fold and I'm sure she'll be a great addition to our team." The man said with a smile as the young rocker strolled up to the blackboard in a slightly lazy way. For one moment though Rachel caught herself starring at the rocker-gal's figure (and her ass) as a small voice in her head whistled slowly, appreciating the sight. She caught herself quickly enough to straighten up and set a look of indifference on her face, just at the moment when the girl in the tight-fitting jeans and matching black boots turned towards the class. ' _Shit… She did leave quite impression yesterday. I have to admit that…_ '

"My name is Maxine 'Max' Caulfield. It's great to be back in Arcadia Bay. I'm sure we'll have a lot of fun together." The woman smiled at her new classmates, but for some reason Rachel couldn't help but think the look on the girl's face as a façade. It was like the smile never quite reached her eyes and like there was something dark in those beautiful blue orbs. With that Max apparently considered the introductions over and went back to her seat at the back of the class. Rachel felt a hot jolt go through her as the young rocker passed by her. ' _Did she just wink at me?_ '

Mr Jefferson seemed pleased with this short intro to his today's class and turned to the things he had intended to lecture them about on this sunny spring day. But a certain blonde woman's thoughts were racing as she had trouble concentrating on the subject at hand and kept returning to the issue of the still rather mysterious woman named Max Caulfield.

* * *

-Vicarious-

* * *

It felt like class was over in only a few heartbeats, but when the bell rang, Rachel noted two things with silently mounting frustration. One, was that she had not managed to do half the work he had hoped to finish during class. The second was that Max already had disappeared out of the door of the classroom before she herself had even finished packing everything back into her backpack and apparently they were either not in the same classes on other subjects or she had skipped classes for the rest of the day. And that could mean she could be right about anywhere. The next frustrating thing came in the form of Nathan skipping the rest of the classes that day and not picking up his phone, plus Mr Jefferson saying that he's too busy at the moment with a side project he has recently started with one of his co-artists back in Seattle and thus has quite a lot of work to do, which meant he couldn't spare any time for the young blonde woman.

The only small glimmer of the good graces smiling at her was when Victoria started to complain to her about the rocker-gal being again too loud to concentrate on her own things, saying that the noise coming from her room was unbearable.

' _Jackpot._ ' The young girl with hazel eyes pumped a fist in the air in silent celebration. ' _And I don't even have to ask around for her room number. If Victoria is right – I only have to follow 'the noise'._ ' She grinned as she bound towards the girl's dorms.

Indeed she found the room of the rocker-girl quite easily as by the time she entered the dorms she could hear the faint sound of the song 'Vicarious' from Tool playing in the distance, which meant Victoria was indeed right about the rocker not really caring for the eardrums of those living in the rooms right next to hers. As she ran up the stairs Rachel pondered the question of how to approach the strange girl in the best way, but settled of just going with the flow and cooking up some excuses to talk to the girl when she actually needed them. She was already at the door of the rocker in question, when the song ended.

' _Well, it's now or never, probably._ ' She tried to steel herself for every possible reaction from her best friend's former best friend as she didn't really know how she'd react to her intrusion, but just after she'd knocked once (and lightly at that) the door swung open and the rocker-gal named Max bade her welcome to her humble abode, as if she'd know the blonde woman was there... ' _She's about the same height as me…_ ' A small voice in her head noted as she stepped past the girl with brown-red hair and took in the scenery before her. The room was positively trashed. Still, it had a certain charm to it, which strongly resonated in the blonde girl herself. Nearly all walls had some posters on them of different bands – bands she knew and bands she didn't recognise, but one wall was completely decked out by black wallpapers and posters depicting various band logos or different things, like goth-art or such. A poster from the band A Perfect Circle stood out as it read 'Rose' in bold red letters on it, which quite distinguished it from the rest. An electric guitar was neatly tucked away in a corner near, what seemed to be the rest of the music gear the rocker had stored in her room. An acoustic guitar lay on the woman's still unmade bed. Random clothes were strewn all over the room, but at the same time everything seemed to have a bizarre order to it.

"So, erm… can I get you anything to drink, Rachel? You drink beer, right?" Max asked as she started to rummage through one of her drawers, her back to the stunned blonde.

"Yeah, beer's fine… Wait. No. How do you know my name?" Rachel asked a bit perplexed as the rocker's offer of sorts had hit her like a one-two punch.

"Rachel Amber, you're like one of the most famous and most loved people here at Blackhell. Everyone knows you. So it's really not such a big thing actually, you know." The rocker-gal turned to hold out a can of beer towards the blonde woman, which eyed her with suspicion. "I had seen you a few times already on campus, but I never really got the chance to chat you up. Besides – I saw you yesterday at the concert." The woman with the many tattoos grinned at her and chuckled slightly as she opened a can on her own and saw that Rachel was still standing there kind of lost. The first thought that crossed Rachel's mind at that point was what the Cassandra-woman had said the day before: ' _I just loved the way she'd laugh…_ '.

"Hey. I don't bite. Well… I do, but I won't bite you. So, what I wanted to say is – take a seat. Just, erm… look for a spot which seems less messy." The girl continued, as Rachel's attention wandered from her smile to the nose-piercing the rocker had and from it – to the tattoos on her neck and her shoulders, which by light were clearer to see and far more fascinating than in the half-dim light of the barn yesterday. The rocker-gal seemed to notice Rachel's stare as she gave her a wry smile, circling her shoulders, which made the tattoos move respectively.

"Each of them has a story. Buuut… those are for another time." Max said as she herself, obviously completely fine with the mess, sat down on the chair, which already was packed with some cloth. "Anyways, how did you like the concert? And if you're not drinking the beer, you can just toss it on the bed. I'll drink it later." She smiled again.

"Yeah… No, it's, uhm, thanks…" Rachel sat down on the bed, finally opening the offered beer and taking a long pull from it. "Look, about the concert. I really loved it and I have to say, your voice is mesmerizing, and I definitely will want to know what song you played there – the one with the 'How you turned my world' and such, but… It's not really what I wanted to talk with you about… Shit…"

"Shit? You wanted to talk about shit?" The rocker-gal roared with laughter and for a brief moment her eyes shone so radiantly with joy that the young blonde somewhat lost track of her thoughts. "So! You want to talk about shit shit or dope-ass shit or the real shit?" Max teased her and gave her a lopsided grin.

"That's not what I meant!" The blonde girl made a pouting face, but couldn't really supress the smile that came so easily to her and in the next moment Rachel found herself laughing alongside the girl with the blue butterfly-tattoo. "Damn! You threw me of track!" She grabbed a shirt that had been carelessly tossed on the bed and threw it at the rocker, who evaded it easily and threw one on her own, still laughing. ' _Fuck! This is bad. I really can't concentrate at all today._ ' The blonde woman thought as the shirt hit her right in the face, much to Max's apparent amusement. The whole situation started to make her feel a bit nauseous – like she knew something was not really right, but couldn't put a finger on it no matter how hard she thought about it.

"Hey, Rachel, you ok?" The rocker-gal's voice drew her from her thoughts. It was only now that she saw that the other woman had come to half-squat in front of her and held a steadying hand to the blonde girl's shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah. It's just… I don't really know how to approach this… Erm… while I think of a way to address what I wanted to talk to you about – would you please tell me how you got to store beer in your room and nobody has caught wind of it yet? I mean – the security officer here is a whole surveillance army." ' _Get your shit together, Rachel. This is really not the time to space out. This is not why you came here for._ ' The blonde woman thought, slightly biting her lower lip – a habit she had developed, when she was stressed.

"Oh, David? Yeah, sure he is. But I've got my ways. And no – I won't elaborate on that. Trade secret." Max chuckled again, but the blonde woman could have sworn she saw a slight change in the eyes of the woman sitting in front and slightly to the left of her. "Anyways, let's get out of her. It seems some fresh air could do you some good." Her tone was still joyous and warm, but there was something in her eyes which seemed distant, before they lit up again after she'd taken a quick look at the watch in her cell-phone. "And I know just the perfect location. C'mon. You can think on the way and it's not like we have classes today anymore." She gave the slightly unsure blonde a light clap on the shoulder. It was amazing with what speed she found her jacket and boots in the mess and put them on in quick succession.

"Erm, sure." Was the only reply the girl with hazel eyes could reply as the other woman urged her to follow.

She couldn't really come to grips with the ease the young rocker talked to her, or the ease she had talking to Max. A woman she had been jealous of. A woman she had thought she'd most probably hate. But the opposite was actually the case. She felt so familiar. So strangely close. Like she'd been there all the time, but Rachel could see her only now…

' _It feels like-… like I would have missed her this whole time._ ' It was a very strange and very unsettling feeling actually.

The idle chatter and banter they had engaged in on the various songs the rocker had played the day before and the music they liked or knew, plus these thoughts she had, had kept Rachel so immersed that she only noticed that they had actually arrived at the beach when her feet started to thread sand and not on asphalt. It felt like time had flown by in the blink of an eye. By the time they stopped to watch the sunset, she'd already managed to ask for a small acoustic demo of the rocker's singing skills. ' _Shit! This is definitely not the reason I came to talk to her. Goddamn it! What's wrong with me?_ '

Again her thoughts about the topic she'd initially wanted to talk about with the rocker-gal were swept to the side, when the girl with brown-red hair obliged with a grin and a bow and started to sing in a low, somewhat husky voice 'Bandoliers' by Them Crooked Vultures. It was mesmerizing and made the blonde girl in the jeans-jacket involuntarily hum along. ' _Is she singing about Cassandra?_ ' A more persistent and resilient voice in Rachel's mind wondered as she closely watched the expression on Max's face, the glimmer in her eyes and the ever so small changes in her voice. The silence that followed the hypnotizing sound of the young woman's voice was only disturbed by the sound of the seagulls and the waves washing up on the beach. It was Max who spoke first.

"Look, Rachel. I know exactly, why you came to talk to me. I saw Chloe and you both yesterday at the concert." Her voice was calm, warm actually, but for some reason Rachel could not help herself, but feel somewhat intimidated by the woman, who looked at the sea with a sad smile on her lips. "I saw you both helping Cassandra up and taking her away. I know what I said to her yesterday, but thanks for doing that. I may hate her, but she used to mean a lot to me… And thanks for being Chloe's friend… I know just all too well how it feels to go through hell with nobody by your side to lend you at least a warm shoulder to lean on..." As the rocker-girl with the nose-piercing looked Rachel in the eyes, the blonde woman could have sworn to have seen something change in them. But if there had been anything – it was away in the next moment already, only to be replaced by a frightening serenity as the rocker-girl's voice took on a tone which was somewhere between distant and cold to warm and caring. "Listen, Rachel. I know what you may think right now, but I like you enough to give you a fair warning. Keep Chloe away from Cassandra. Nothing good will come of them meeting. That I can promise you. Keep away from Mr Jefferson and Nathan. I will not always be there to rescue you. But most of all – stay by Chloe's side. She needs you. And she loves you. More than you can imagine… Keep her safe, will ya?" The smile or more precisely the look she gave Rachel at that point made the hair stand on her neck. Max reached up and closed the stunned girl's mouth by placing a single finger underneath her chin and pushing it lightly up, before she gave the other woman a short, tight embrace and a pat on the back.

"See you in school tomorrow." And with that the rocker stood up and started to walk back towards the Academy.

' _What the hell just happened?!_ ' Rachel's mind was racing as she looked at the strange rocker-girl's form getting smaller in the distance. Another, more absentminded part of her mind piped in something, which it found quite curious. ' _I could have sworn she was humming_ 'Vicarious' _by Tool just now…_ ' Without even really realising it the young blonde finished the line, which matched the tone she thought she had just heard.

"'cause I need to watch things die. From a distance..."

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **Hey, guys and gals. This one's up quite early, but unfortunately I didn't have the time to polish it as much as I wanted it to, for otherwise this chapter would have grown too big and too long. So instead there is this slightly shorter one. Still I hope you'll enjoy it. ^^`Next one should be out by the end of the next week (latest).  
**

 **Always happy to hear your honest opinion on the story and the content. ;)**

 **Cheers and have a great rest of the week ;)!**

 **Yours,**

 **Bovragor**

 **P.S. By the way - I really recommend to listen to Vicarious. *evil laughter***


	14. Chapter 14

**WARNING:**

 **All characters and the story upon which this fanfiction is based are property of Dontnod Entertainment and Square Enix. I don't own anything.**

 **As this is my first story to be published here, I will be happy about every reviews - both good and bad as only so I can know what I have to improve. :)**

 **Rated M for crude and strong language at times, violence and mature content.**

* * *

-Schism-

* * *

The young blonde was still deep in thought and quite shaken by what the rocker-girl had told her just about an hour or so ago, when she finally reached the Academy again as she had to bring Chloe's car back to the blue-haired punk after all. Her mind was still racing over the contradicting emotions she felt about what Max had said, about how she felt in the presence of the young rocker with the nose-piercing and about the small changes she had seen in Max's eyes - the strange look in those blue orbs and the expression. All the various details she had half-absentmindedly observed were like tiny cogs and wheels turning in her head but not quite clicking together. Still, there was something about the rocker-gal, which made the hair on her neck stand and gave her chills. Like an eerie aura or shadow…

"…-el." Rachel was so immersed in her thoughts that she actually didn't hear when she was first addressed.

"Hey, Rachel! Hey! I'm talking to you." It was only now that she actually saw the group of students coming her way, led by the young man in an expensive looking red jacket, who had put a hand to his mouth to amplify the volume of his voice.

"What? Oh! Hey, Nathan." She responded, feeling as if she was waking up from a half-daze. It became quite clear that the group of students was actually heading out of the Academy, even if the curfew would set in already in a few more minutes.

"We called out to you multiple times but you wouldn't respond. Are you ok?" The young Prescott looked at her with something between slight amusement and something similar to worry.

"And I tried to call you but you wouldn't pick up." A slightly annoyed and pouting Victoria Chase piped in. It seemed the normal 'party-gang' had been assembled. Well, all except for her.

"Yeah, erm… sorry, must have put my phone on 'silent'-mode back in the class and forgot to switch it off…" She answered as the young man slung his arm around her shoulders and prompted her to move along with them to the gates. He was visibly in good spirits already.

"Hey, that's fine. You're here and that means we can finally go party." He smiled at her, slinging the other hand around Victoria's shoulders, who didn't seem to mind it very much at all. "You know the next Vortex-Club party will be on Friday, but I just got a brand new camera and that just calls for celebration."

"Wow! That's great! But I still gotta drive back the car I came to the Academy with today." She said as she lightly removed his arm from her shoulder and stepped a little to the side so that the group could easily pass her on their way out of the Academies territory. Her answer seemed to slightly sour the mood of the party-goers. "But, I'll just join you later. I could really need a couple of drinks today... And if not – Friday is party time for sure." She added with a wink, which seemed to satisfy the small gang as they started to slowly move forwards again.

"Great! Just give me or Vicky a call if you decide to come, so we can tell you where we are." Nathan called over his shoulder, grinning slightly, before he engaged in a discussion with Victoria, which Rachel didn't quite hear what it was about.

She turned and walked towards the near-solitary car standing in the parking lot. The blonde girl had already entered the vehicle and was reaching for her bag to get the keys only to find them missing. A first thought was that they might have fallen out of her bag or pocket, if she had unconsciously stored them there, at the beach or somewhere along the road, but after a brief eruption into a fit of curses and swears she remembered leaving them on the table in the classroom of the art teacher, when she had tried to catch a moment to talk to the mysterious rocker-girl.

' _Well… at least that's a good thing. I know where they are and with luck Mr Jefferson will not have locked the classroom yet._ ' She thought and smiled slightly. The prospect of meeting the teacher one on one made her a bit giddy. The rocker-gal's ominous warnings about the teacher were quickly dismissed as something strange and unjustified. After all, it could be anything – maybe, the rocker-girl simply didn't like him, or something. ' _Well, actually, not really any of my business or concerns._ ' The young blonde decided as she again grinned at the slight spring in her step on her way towards the corpus of the main building in which the classroom in question was located.

"Hello, Mr. Jefferson!" She didn't really bother hiding the fact that she was quite pleased to see the classroom still open and the teacher sitting at the desk sorting various photographs the students had handed in as part of their weekly assignments.

"Oh. Hey, Rachel." The older man greeted the blonde girl with a small, but somewhat warm smile - a smile she thought made him intimidating and intriguing at the same time – as he raised his eyes from the portfolios to the student that smiled at him radiantly as she walked towards her desk. "Forgot something? I wasn't quite expecting you or anybody actually at this late an hour…"

"Yeah… Shit…" The young woman's happy demeanour darkened a bit as she cursed for the expected keys were not on her desk. "Where the-"

"Are you looking for these?" She turned to see the teacher holding the car-keys in his hand and placing them back on his desk again focusing on the portfolios before him. "I saw them on your desk, but if I'm not completely mistaken, you yourself don't own a car, so I picked them up for safekeeping."

"Yes, erm, they belong to my friend Chloe… She didn't feel so well, but allowed me to take her car, so I could get to class on time." Rachel lied slightly, but it wasn't far from the truth and it felt quite natural, so she just put on her best ' _Rachel-the-good-student_ '-smile, when she strolled over to the teacher's desk and snagged the keys. "Thanks, Mr. Jefferson."

He smiled a bit, but didn't raise his head to look at her as he flipped through the photos of a new portfolio. It annoyed the young woman somewhat, but this too gave her a reason to linger a bit and play the coy student, who is genuinely interested in the subject. Well, she didn't really have to play much as in the presence of the man she felt a bit shy, though she mostly hid it quite well with an overarching aura of confidence, and she _was_ interested in photography after all.

"Whose portfolio is this?" She inquired as a portfolio in a slim, red binder had caught her attention. It was different from the others for its appearance alone.

"This one belongs to Max Caulfied." The photography teacher seemed to welcome the possibility to discuss his work and the work of his students with somebody else, who was really into the topic. And from previous conversations it was clear – Rachel had a good eye for such things and was quite clever in distinguishing the pictures which were _really_ good from those that were mere failed attempts to make a good shot. "I have to admit she has talent and quite a good eye for composition too." The man mused as he looked at the various pictures, which were truly good, but he couldn't help but think that there was something in them. Like a teasing darkness, like there was something lurking in them and at the edges of one's vision and memory if you looked too long at them.

Rachel didn't like the fascination in the man's voice and eyes, but couldn't help but agree. The pictures were really something. Though kept in black and white nearly all of them had one specific object, which was coloured in a distinctive blood red. The picture they were looking at currently was particularly intriguing. It was taken from an odd angle showing a young woman sitting on a bench near the lighthouse. Her hair was slightly tussled by the wind, partially obscuring her features, but the smile on her blood red lips and the expression in her eyes could be only described as 'knowing and cruel'. Still, the young blonde felt like she could drown in those deep, dark orbs of the woman in the picture, which as she noticed by the hair-cut was the rocker herself. The lips seemed to be inviting to kiss them, but at the same time it felt like a trap. A particularly cruel, calculated trap and the bait was she herself.

"You are right. It feels like they were made with the purpose to 'capture'." Only when the man sitting at the desk looked her straight in the eyes Rachel realised she had spoken the later part of her thoughts out loud. He gave her a strange but somewhat approving look. "This is something I have noticed – you can see the nature of a picture with the first time you lay eyes on it. It's a rare gift and it shows in your work too." He tapped his finger on the portfolio on his desk that bore her name. "I believe you and Max could be actually quite compatible if you'd decide to work together sometime." He mused and the mysterious look and slight smile on his face returned. "Maybe in a different colour-scheme, but you could make some great work… Speaking of which, you know I've invested a lot in a side project for some time now. Well, the truth is – I've succeeded with it and the Blackwell Academy will be taking part in the 'Everyday Heroes' contest later this summer. I'll want every one of my students to hand in their portfolios, but there are no rules in place that would prevent the collaboration between two students. I know that you and Max will hand in excellent photographs, but I really would recommend you two to put your heads together for this one. The prize is a trip to San Francisco and quite a big grant. Think about it. Maybe you'll capture something amazing with the camera." For a single fleeting moment Rachel couldn't help but think there was something predator like in the man's eyes, but it was instantly replaced by a warm look and a warm smile. "However, I'd also recommend you to get some rest. It's quite late and I have no doubt you still have things to do for school." With that he returned to study the portfolios in front of him, clearly indicating the conversation was over, but before Rachel could bite her tongue to prevent herself from asking she had already.

"Will you be going to the party on Friday, Mr Jefferson? I've seen you there a few times, but never really got to talk to you there – outside of the school…" The blonde woman could feel her cheeks growing slightly hotter, but knew how to play it cool, so she took a pose which seemed casual enough.

To her surprise the man smiled at her, this time revealing his perfect, white teeth a bit.

"Well, I have to admit I haven't really thought about it, but maybe, I'd be inclined to go this time. It does sound quite promising and I really could do with some time to relax from work." He looked her in the eyes and this time the blonde woman couldn't mask her blushing. "So, I guess I'll be talking to you there then?"

"Yeah, I'd love that." The young woman blurted out without even wanting to. ' _Get your shit together, Rachel! You're not having a crush on Mark Jefferson, a famous photograph and artist... You're hitting on him!_ ' Blushing furiously she turned on her heal and ran out of the classroom. She didn't see the look in the man's eyes as he watched her form disappear out of the door.

Though she still felt somewhat elated by the brief conversation with the teacher, her thoughts started to turn towards her blue-haired best friend, whom she had to return the old pickup-truck to, as she was driving along the road. It was really getting late and although the days grew longer, it didn't really change what time it was. _'20:20… Shit! She'll be pissed._ ' The thought didn't help the blonde woman at all and soured her mood. She loved the badass punk-girl for her fuck-it-all attitude and strong sense of loyalty, and she knew she'd just received quite a mental beatdown by her former best friend's ex-girlfriend, but she really didn't know how to handle the blue-nette's clinginess which bordered on possessiveness and obsession. She knew Chloe had feelings for her and she liked the blue-haired woman quite much, but it was not really the same what the punk-girl felt for her. Besides, she wasn't really the one to talk…

As if on que her cell-phone vibrated and made slight clacking noises to indicate she had received a message. She slowed the car down a little bit, but still continued driving while she picked up the phone and looked who was the one writing her.

'Hey doe. Wanna hang out on Friday? Got some great stuff.' It was Frank.

Though she liked the gruff but still surprisingly charming man well enough and had a sexually active relationship with him, she didn't really feel the same as the man felt for her either. The sex and the drugs were great, but it was not really what she was looking for or at least not anymore… She knew how much he cared for her, but it just wasn't _it_. She also had to admit to herself that she didn't really like the slightly possessive side the man was developing. It made it hard for her to hang out with him and Chloe at the same time as they'd nearly instantly start to argue ruining any chance of relaxing. They both made it hard to hang out with them even if it was only with one of them… Besides that – she hadn't confronted him about it just yet, but it felt like he'd been doing more of the drugs himself than selling them, and she really didn't need a complete junkie on her neck. When they had first hooked up, even when it was partially for the drugs, she had hoped to change him and get him somewhat cleaner, despite herself using the fact that he'd get and give her drugs for free… but now…

' _Shit! It does sound quite bad, when you put it like that._ ' She thought as she tipped in the reply. She knew she'd be lying if she said the relationship was there for more reasons than convenience anymore and this convenience had been wearing thin with time… She did feel a bit sorry for the man but this was another thing she couldn't really keep up anymore. Not with what she felt. Not with what she knew she wanted... ' _Well, we'll see where this leads us._ ' She hit the send button, but she knew already the future for the two of them was not necessarily marred with white flowers and sunshine. Actually, she didn't really see much of a future with the man at all. Sometimes she hated this side of herself, this ruthless self, but it was there.

A few more minutes and she was at the punk-girl's house. She wanted to cheer her friend up, but she already could feel how the two days without sleep were affecting her mood. The discussion coming her way, provoked by her own small letter to the blue-nette in the morning most probably, didn't help to make her look forward to seeing her blue-haired friend either. She didn't really relish the thought of a lengthy discussion with Chloe about her actions… not now anyways. When they had been younger it had been easier for them to talk about anything. But now? It had changed over the past years. She had changed over the past years. And Chloe had stayed the same – stuck in a place she didn't want to be but with no real way to get out of it. With Rachel as a beacon of hope in what the punk described as a hellhole. Once there had been something of a spark between them and though the blonde girl was sure it was still there, it was not the same anymore. Once they had even considered ditching the town and moving to LA together. It had been their shared dream. Now she was not so sure anymore… A silent thought floated up in her mind as she remembered the rocker-girl's words on Chloe's feelings for her. ' _How has it become like this? It was not always like this..._ '

' _And now for the other fun part._ ' Rachel thought somewhat bitterly as she put up her normal slightly mischievous smile and rang the bell.

"If it isn't the hell-raiser bringing back my daughter's truck." The older woman, opening the door for her and stepping slightly aside so that the blonde girl could come in, looked at her affectionately.

"Hey, Joyce!" She greeted Chloe's mother with a bright smile. She liked Joyce, who cared for her as if she was a second daughter to her. "I take it that David is still in the Academy?" She didn't hide the dislike in her voice as Joyce knew that her daughter and the blonde woman standing next to her had a strained relationship with her second husband.

"David's in the garage. Please try not to provoke him, Rachel. It's enough that Chloe does it all the time. I'd be very grateful if there was peace in this house for once." The older woman said with a sigh and started to walk towards the kitchen, where something was already cooking. It smelled delicious and Rachel realised how hungry she actually was. "But I'll be happy if you stay for dinner." Joyce said giving her a knowing look over the shoulder. "Don't make too much of a ruckus, will you?" She smiled and walked into the kitchen.

' _Yeah, can't promise you that. Any of that actually…_ ' Rachel thought as she bound up the stairs towards the punk-girl's room. She could already tell by the music her friend was listening to and which was audible even in the hallway that the blue-haired punk was in a rather bad mood. She knocked once and entered without waiting for a response. There was no use anyways, for either the punk-girl wouldn't hear her knocking or if she made a response – it would not be a kind one.

"Brought your car back. Sorry that it took longer than intended." Rachel started as she threw the car-keys on the bed and was expecting the punk-girl to throw a tantrum, but Chloe was not even looking her way. ' _So much for the expected explosion of anger, huh?_ ' The blue-nette was sitting at her desk and was looking intensely at the computer screen, reading something. All around her were her old journals and stacks of unsent letters.

"Chloe? What are you doing?" Rachel asked as her thoughts shifted from the still possible discussion with the punk-girl about what she had written in the message to worry. The blonde girl could imagine what it was that Chloe was looking up. It worried her even more as the words the rocker-gal had told her floated up in the young woman's mind again. "Hey Chloe!" She placed a hand on her best friend's shoulder.

The surprised blue-haired girl turned around with a startled expression and nearly fell from the chair.

"Jesus! Are you trying to scare me to death, Rach? Holy hell!" The young punk said when she had finally steadied herself by grasping the desk. From this position the blonde girl with the feather-earring could see what her friend had been reading so intently. It was exactly what she had suspected it to be, but before she could ask the blue-nette about it, Chloe had recovered from the initial shock and seemed to have no intention to talk about the 'research' she'd done.

"You went to see Max." It was more of a statement than a question. The expression on the blue-haired punk's face was a mixture of fear, anger and confusion. "Why?" Rachel knew the other woman well enough to see that it was useless to try and strike up a different topic, for example on her own self-inflicted torture of reading every bit and snippet of information she could get on any possible event that might somehow relate to Max and verify the story the rocker-gal's ex-girlfriend had told them just the day before, at the moment. Chloe was too stubborn. She sighed and closed her eyes for a moment before answering. ' _Sometimes this feels like work…_ '

"I did it so that I could get some answers from her. You were in no condition to do it, so I did it in your stead." The blonde woman looked the punk-girl in the eyes. "You can't expect me to do nothing."

"And? Did you get any?" Rachel could see the slight fear and worry in the other girl's eyes as if she didn't know how to react to this. The fact that the blonde woman had put it in a way, which suggested she had done it for her friend (and which was the truth), didn't seem to be of importance for the blue-haired punk. ' _As if she'd fear my conversation with Max would have ruined her chances of making up… Even if all I did was try to help…_ ' A small angry voice in Rachel's mind spoke up.

"No. She's good at eluding questions…" The blonde woman said. It was no lie. After all – she hadn't gotten the answers she had been hoping for. "But she's quite something. I have to admit that."

"What do you mean with that?" The look on Chloe's face surprised the young woman with hazel eyes. ' _Wait. Is she jealous? What the hell?_ ' The punk-girl's eyes had filled with sudden anger, but it mellowed nearly immediately only to be replaced by worry and sadness. "Sorry, I didn't mean to raise my voice, it's just-. I don't know how to handle this at all." The blue-haired woman made a gesture towards her old journals and the computer. With a sigh she put her head in her hands and leaned forward so that her elbows were placed on her knees. "I both hated and missed her for so long, always thinking she had lived the good life in Seattle… and now… I don't know what to think anymore. I don't know how to feel about this. I don't know how much she's changed or in what way, besides the obvious visual changes and what that black-haired fiend said yesterday. I don't know anything about her anymore really…" ' _Shit. I expected something like this, but it seems this hit her harder than I thought would be possible. After all – throughout the years Max was nearly the personification of evil and betrayal for her…_ ' the blonde girl thought as she looked at the clearly distressed woman sitting at the desk.

"Come here." Rachel sighed and set on the bed and patted the space next to her. She was feeling drained. The past two days had been very tiring and the small ups of the day were quickly overshadowed by the more negative things. Still, she'd listen to her friends' plight as it meant she'd get the answers she wanted and wouldn't have to elaborate on the unsuccessful attempt to discuss the things she'd wanted to with the rocker-girl.

The young punk more stumbled over to the bed than walked. She let the blonde girl slide her down so that her head was on the young woman's lap. It was only after a short while that she started to talk again as Rachel gently caressed her blue hair.

"I spoke to Max's father today, you know…" Chloe began in a small voice. "I asked about Max being in Arcadia Bay again... At first he seemed to be happy to hear me, but when I asked about Vanessa, Max's mom, and what had happened in all those years, he became so distant… He said he didn't want to upset me. That he'd just hope that going back to Arcadia would do his little girl some good after all that had happened in Seattle... He didn't really want to answer my questions, but I dug up some of the answers on the net anyways…" She fell silent for a few moments before she continued. "Can you imagine? I hated her with a passion despite not knowing anything... I had cast her out of my world on my own. I had declared her dead for me if she'd move and still I said to myself that it had been her, who abandoned me. And I didn't even care as much as try to contact her… And now five years after I've seen her, after I've pushed her away – I don't even have the courage to talk to her… I fled into my own thoughts and tried to justify my behaviour. I exhausted myself with feeling sorry about myself and had not even the decency to show up to school today. I ran from her in a sense… I'm no better than Cassandra…"

"Sorry, that I yelled at you, Rach…" The blue-haired punk said after another moment, while the blonde girl with hazel eyes still stroked her hair, silently wondering how to respond.

"It's fine, Che… Don't think too much about it. I know you're stressed out about this all. Hell, who wouldn't be?" The blonde woman with the feather earring smiled weakly at the other woman resting in her lap. "I know you're feeling insecure and scared of the possibilities right now, but this is not something you can't mend. I mean – I don't know exactly what you did all day long, but I can imagine. But tormenting yourself right now is not gonna do you any good… I mean, look, you know how it has been between us for these years. We've been through and have experienced so much shit, but we're still here. Ups and downs and all that stuff. But we're still us – changed, maybe even more mature, but still us. What I want to say is - your past actions and emotions are not what define you. You're still a badass. And… Look, I'll be there when you decide to talk to Max if you want me to, ok? But right now I need you to just calm down and get some rest and I need to get some rest too. Besides, judging by the staples all around your desk your head must be bursting from the exercise of reading so much."

"Jerk." The blue-nette muttered and rolled so that she was facing Rachel's navel before hugging her still in this position. ' _The clinginess kicks in._ ' The blonde woman's smile faltered for a moment there. ' _It's always the same…_ ' There had been a time when she'd enjoyed this quite a bit and hell… even though it was some time ago since the last time, she still enjoyed this, when in a drunk or weed induced haze the two of them would make out and more, but it was just that for her – fun with no strings attached. There had been a time she thought it would mean more to her, but she knew not that it didn't. Yes, she liked the punk-girl, but this was not how she felt. Not anymore… Over the years she had come to grips with this side of herself and had even repeatedly tried to explain this side of hers to Chloe. To explain that love to her was different. But the sad truth was that every time she'd tried to do that, she'd put it off out of fear for ruining their friendship. Chloe didn't know that she was in a relationship with Frank. She didn't know that the blonde girl was actually crushing on the photography teacher. She didn't know her as well as she thought she did. Not anymore…

"Listen, Chloe, I actually need some sleep and I want to get home before tomorrow morning, so could you please let go of me now." She said with the same warm tone of voice, but the expression didn't change – the smile was gone.

"Do you have to? I mean, besides the times we either fuck shit up or you have the idea of taking me with you to some party I don't really get to see you as much anymore…" ' _And here are the puppy eyes._ ' The young blonde thought as she looked at the punk-girl, who was watching her intently.

"Yes. You know quite well that we're not really neighbours living in the same area. I have to go and if you finally decide to show your face in the Academy more often we'd see each other there more often too. Besides we see each other at the usual spot nearly every day." She managed a small smile. She could feel how the tiredness influenced her mood, rapidly changing it from cranky to annoyed and she didn't want to let it out on the girl still lying on her lap.

"Max'll be there…" The punk-girl replied quietly.

"And so will I. I told you – it's going to be fine. You're going to be fine. Just rest for today, alright? So, come on, Che, get up. I need to be out of here before Sergeant Pepper finds out that I'm here and starts to bark at me like a mad dog again." The blue-nette obliged, though it was obviously not to her liking. She took a deep breath and let it out before she looked the blonde woman in the eyes.

"Alright… I- I'll see how I feel tomorrow about it all… You'll really come along if I decide to talk to Max, right? Not that I think I'll be able to do it tomorrow, but you know…" The uncertainty was still there, but in this moment Rachel's mind found it was more or less ok to leave her alone. She was calmer now after all. ' _Well, at least we managed to partially avoid the painful topics._ '

"I promise, Chloe." She gave the blue-haired punk a short, but tight hug and a light kiss on the cheek, before easing out of it again. "Just sleep a while and don't overthink it, ok? See you tomorrow." With that said she made for the door. And not only because she wanted to avoid Chloe's stepfather, but because she knew her friend enough to see that another attempt on how to stop her from going home was already forming in the punk-girl's mind. She could tell by the look her best friend was giving her. And this was exactly what she didn't want right now…

It was only later when Rachel was back in her parent's house and in her own bed that a nagging voice piped up in one corner of her mind. ' _I have to set things straight and tell her somehow… this is not the way the two of us can work any longer…_ ' She knew she wasn't really free of blame for it becoming like this, but she had to find a way out. For both of them, but if that was not possible – for herself, regardless of the rocker-gal's words or how cold-hearted that may sound… ' _Well, now who is the one who is not any better than Cassandra, huh?'_ The thought left a bitter taste in her mouth.

* * *

-Pushit (Salival)-

* * *

"Hey, Chloe." The young woman with the dirty blonde hair put up into a pretty bun and the small golden cross hanging on a lace around her neck greeted the blue-haired punk as she walked into the surprisingly empty classroom just before the afternoon lessons in arts and photography were about to start.

"Hi, Kate." The punk-girl greeted back after a moment in which she had tried to remember the other woman's name. It still came out more as a question than an actual greeting. ' _Shit… Maybe I should at least keep tabs on who is who in the school for the case I decide to come from time to time. Though, they already threatened to suspend me if I miss another month or so… maybe I won't really need to after all._ ' To her surprise the young girl simply smiled at her warmly and turned her attention back to the portfolio before her. Various notes about corrections and tips were attached to it. "Erm, listen, have you seen Rachel?"

"No, sorry. I remember she was talking to Nathan earlier in the park before the Academy as he seemed pretty out of it, but where she went or what she did afterwards I don't know. I still had quite a few things I had to do for the next portfolio so I hurried over here to do it before the start of the class." The young woman replied honestly and warmly.

"Nathan? Why the hell would she talk to that freak?" The thought of her best friend talking to that creepy weirdo was not sitting well with the punk-girl. She knew Rachel was a real social butterfly and got along with nearly everyone, but why she was even associating with the young Prescott was beyond her. Over the past years the punk-girl and the young heir of the Prescott family had grown from just being at odds to actually hating each other's guts. Still, Rachel seemed not to mind the young man's attention.

"I really don't know. Maybe she wanted to ask him something or just check in on him." Kate mused, but from her expression Chloe could tell the young religious woman's guess was as good as hers.

' _Shit. I really could need a smoke right now._ ' The blue-haired punk tossed her bag carelessly near her desk and set back in the chair. She had stressed all morning whether to come to school or not and whether it was right for her to try and talk to her former best friend or not. She'd wanted to discuss this with Rachel. Wanted a little bit of her strength and support… or lots of it in this case actually, but as it appeared the other woman was neither in the park, nor in the dorms, nor in the classroom. There was the possibility that she could be either smoking on the roof of the dorms or in the old toilets of the tool-house, where they had managed to short-wire the alarm a year ago, but taking into account what the blonde girl sitting only a few desks away from her had just revealed, the young woman with the trade-mark feather-earrings could be actually either ditching classes completely or be God-knows-where doing God-knows-what or she just did really talk to the young man and would still come to class in a few minutes. ' _Well, if she doesn't show up in a few minutes, that's it! Just wanted to talk to her anyways and if she's not here, I'll probably see her at the hideout later on. Actually – I could leave now and wait for her there._ '

' _Just gonna go and hide from your former best friend, huh? You're a real coward, Price._ ' A small voice in the punk-girl's head was raging, accusing her of running away from what she'd really hoped to accomplish today, but she just couldn't bring herself to listen to that voice and steel her nerves. She was simply too scared from the direct confrontation. She had no problem to go logger-heads and into a fistfight with nearly anyone nowadays, even if she'd be bruised and battered afterwards, but the prospect of talking to her former best friend again, the one she'd most probably abandoned herself and hurt, the one who might as well hate her… it scared her beyond anything she knew or had experienced. She didn't know how to face the girl who once had been so close to her heart.

The blue-nette grabbed her bag and was already getting up to leave the classroom, when she let her view swipe over the classroom and out of the windows. It settled on a familiar looking woman in the park before the Academy. She felt as if her gut would twist into a myriad of knots in a matter of seconds. ' _What is she doing here?_ ' For some reason a sense of dread settled in her mind and threatened to squeeze her heart until it would burst. Without another thought the blue-haired punk slung her bag over her shoulder and practically ran out of the classroom nearly running over a flustered Victoria Chase in the process. She didn't stop to react to the biting remarks the other girl flung after her. The punk-girl didn't pay any attention to the teachers calling out to her or the looks the other students gave her as she ran along the hallway towards the entrance to the Academy. Chloe's mind was racing. She had to talk to the black-haired woman in the park. And if possible - before she'd reach Max.

"What the fuck are you doing here? What the fuck do you want?" The questions sounded more like a threat as the blue-haired woman's voice was heavy with anger that overplayed the insecurity as she addressed the beautiful girl with the emerald green eyes. She had reached the woman in a matter of seconds and dragged her into the woman's restroom at the end of this corpus of the Blackwell Academy, where she suspected no one would come so often. To be truthful Chloe didn't really know what she had thought would happen or what she actually would talk about with the woman standing in front of one of the restroom stalls, but the thought of the girl with raven-black hair talking to Max about who-knows-what or maybe even her or how they met yesterday after the concert set her teeth on edge and filled her gut with an overwhelming sense of dread. The fact that she had just slammed her palm next to the other girls' head against the wall of the restroom stall was not really helpful either.

"And why exactly should I tell you, Chloe Price?" The response was not what the punk-girl had expected. If she felt like it, then Cassandra looked like it - positively miserable. Heavy, dark rings under her beautiful eyes suggested she had not slept for more than one day. Her long black hair seemed mat and unkempt. Her voice was a feeble thing and held none of the resentment, anger and hate it had held just two days before, when they had first met and talked. The woman avoided her gaze and held herself in a tight hug as if to prevent herself from breaking down. She looked like she had no strength to go on really, but was still pushing herself. A sudden thought crossed the blue-nette's mind. ' _What did she do this whole time if she didn't leave? Does she even have a place to stay in Arcadia?_ ' It was only now that she noticed the black-haired woman was slightly shivering and slumped against the stall.

"Hey… are you ok?" Chloe inquired, not really sure why she did it, but despite everything going on, the punk-girl couldn't just ignore just how worn-out the other woman looked. "You look miserable."

"Thanks for pointing out the obvious." Cassandra looked up at the blue-nette and for a moment the glimmer of anger was back in her eyes, but it disappeared just as quickly, as the emptiness it left behind was filled out by sadness. "If you don't have anything more to say, could you please let me go? I just- I just want to see Max." She let her head hang a bit, again focussing on the tiles of the floor. To Chloe it felt like any fighting-spirit that the woman in front of her might have possessed once was gone.

"Max isn't here." The words had left her mouth before the punk-girl even really registered what she was saying. "There is no reason for you to stay and wait."

"Is she in the dorms? Or is she- I just want to see her and talk to her." The feeble voice was barely audible. "I just want to see Max again… even if she'd push me away. I know I deserve far worse for what I did, but I still want to see her…" The young woman with the black leather-jacket looked like she was close to crying. It somehow stung Chloe. She still clearly remembered their previous conversation, the things the woman had revealed and told. Who was she to request to talk to the woman she'd hurt so badly? But then again, what right did Chloe have to judge her?

"Max isn't in the Academy today. I just talked to one of the girls from her class, who confirmed this." Chloe kept up the lie. She was irritated by the strangeness of all of this. She didn't want the other woman to talk to Max, because Cassandra could tell the rocker-gal all kinds of things, but at the same time she felt sorry for the girl who looked like she could collapse any moment. "Look, I don't know when Max is going to be back and there seriously is no point to wait for her here as the security-guard would just kick you out anyways. Why now… let me bring you to the Two Whales diner and let's eat something, ok?"

"Why do you even care? You know what I did to Max… and I know what you did to her. I have no reason to care for you and neither have you any reason to be kind to me." For a brief moment there was the steel in the other woman's eyes again, but just as before it vanished just as quickly.

"You're right, I don't have to be kind to you, but I can't ignore the state you're in either." ' _Plus, I want to know more about Max._ ' The blue-haired punk added in her mind. "So, let's go and afterwards I'd bring you to where you're staying in Arcadia. Where are you staying anyways?"

The black-haired woman held the blue-nette's gaze for a moment before she lowered her eyes again and gave a barely visible nod. She didn't answer the question though, which made Chloe assume her guess that the rocker-gal's ex-girlfriend had been wandering Arcadia for more than 36 hours was right. ' _Damn. I hope she doesn't keel over on the way…_ '

It didn't take them long to reach Chloe's old, rusty pickup-truck and they were already on their way before the afternoon lessons had started, but despite the way to the Two Whales being only about ten-something minutes by car if you knew the right shortcuts, which Chloe did, it still felt like they would drive an eternity. Neither of the women spoke and to be honest, the punk-girl didn't really know how to start the conversation either. It was as the black-haired girl in the black leather-jacket had said – no warm feelings had been lost between them, but at the same time it felt like they both needed to speak about the one thing, the one person that connected them – the young woman named Max Caulfield.

They still hadn't spoken a word when they finally set down in one booth at the half-empty diner. Chloe's mother Joyce had served them each a coffee and a plate of Belgian waffles, scolding the punk-girl in the process about skipping classes, but giving up on it when she saw the mood between the two young women leaving them to their thoughts.

"How can you still be so dear to her? How does it come that after everything you've done you're still so important to her?" The questions spoken in a voice filled with hurt, while the beautiful girl's eyes still remained vacant as she stared out of the window, as if lost in thought, took the blue-nette completely by surprise.

"What do you mean?" she managed a counter-question after calming down a bit as for a moment the black-haired beauties' words had set an emotion loose in her heart which she didn't know if she could allow herself to feel just yet – hope.

"She used to cry in her sleep, you know? She'd shiver, squirm and wake up screaming your name… then she'd cry 'till she'd be exhausted. Too exhausted to feel anything. I would cradle her in my arms and try to sooth her, but in this half-dazed, half-sleep state it was always your name she'd whisper... as if it was a charm to protect her from all the evils she'd had to go through." Silent tears were tracing their way down the cheeks of the beautiful girl, but she didn't seem to notice it. The punk-girl felt like somebody had hit her with a hammer in the gut. And suddenly, just as much as she had waited in anticipation for the black-haired girl to explain what she had meant, she dreaded to hear more.

"Sometimes she'd murmur in her sleep. Reliving what I can only hope were nightmares." Cassandra turned to look the seemingly petrified Chloe in the eyes, before she reached for the cup of coffee and took small sips of it. "By the time we were going out steady, back when I thought the world couldn't be brighter for me as she had entered it, I had known Max for about a year and a half, maybe a little more. At first she wouldn't even acknowledge my presence, but somehow we still became quite close over the course of the first eight month that we knew each other. It always felt like Max had known me from the very beginning, even before we met or had talked… At times she'd be this tough, hard as nails rebel-rocker who would raise hell and at times she'd be like a vulnerable little puppy dumped into a back-alley to starve, beaten and bloodied." By now the young woman in the black leather-jacket and the grey shirt was staring into the cup she held with both hands as if it might show her pictures of past and present like a scrying bowl. "And at times it felt like she was so much more mature, so much more hurt by the world and everyone… betrayed by everything. Like an ice-cold river would flow through her heart… Like she feared I would hurt her too in the end, which I thought impossible, as she was the one I loved, but I ended up hurting her after all… But at some point she still let me into her heart. And I felt so happy, so secure and warm. I couldn't even explain it if my life depended on it… It was just the feeling of being truly in love... until I destroyed it all. Until I hurt her. And still… even at the time I felt like the luckiest person in the world – you'd still be there in her heart. Nothing I did would replace that. Like your name would have been carved into her heart…" She fell silent, but though it might have been for only a couple of minutes, for Chloe it felt like an eternity. This short one-sided conversation had reaffirmed to the blue-nette that she didn't know anything her former best friend had gone through or anything actually. Still, what Cassandra had said made the treacherous feeling of hope spread in her heart.

"Did she… did she ever talk about me? I mean, other than what you just said." Chloe asked the woman in front of her. Too late did she bite her bottom lip. She couldn't hold back. Regardless of how much she feared the answer. She just had to know, for the answer could really mean that she might have a chance to mend the severed ties between her former best friend and herself. Ties that had been severed by her own anger and stubbornness in the first place.

For a moment it seemed that the black-haired girl with the grey shirt wouldn't answer at all, but she spoke up in a low, quiet voice after a while.

"There were times, when in the dim silence of the evening sun, we'd sneak into the school territory and sit on the roof of the school building. It would be just us and the sun, and the wind." The beautiful woman's eyes seemed to could over as her thoughts again focussed on the woman she loved and the memories she had of her. "She'd stare at the scenery of the city bathed in the red rays of the sun and at times she'd start talking about you… The way she'd smile as she'd retell the few happy memories she kept in her heart. The way she'd talk about you and her as kids… about you in general… with such a melody in her voice, such a look in her eyes, such emotion… I'd grow to be jealous of you by her merely mentioning of your name for the way she'd say it felt like it was etched into her being at a place I'd never be able to reach…" For a moment a look of a deep-set hurt hushed over the young woman's face. "She'd talk about the way she imagined life was for you. About the way she imagined you looking right now. About the way you were and would be right now. About how much you'd been through. About how hurt and lost you would be… About how much she'd hate herself for ever leaving you… About how much she'd miss you and how much you'd hate her. About how she hated you for hating her. About how she hated herself for having those feelings she had… Those few moments when she'd talk about you brought her so much anguish and pain… She wouldn't say it, but I could always see it in her eyes – like there was something in her would slowly crack and crumble until it would break down completely… I didn't know you, as I had not seen you or met you, but, my God, how I hated you… All I wanted was to mend what you had broken…"

"I never wanted to hurt her. I just-" Chloe started as a stubborn voice in her mind still screamed that it was not her fault. That she had suffered too. That Max was the one that left her. But the memories of the day of Max's departure from Arcadia Bay all those years ago were vivid before her eyes, telling and showing her quite a different story from what the voice wanted her to believe.

"No. That is exactly what you wanted to do, Chloe Price." With a sudden intensity the steel in the black-haired woman's eyes returned as she looked at the punk-girl, who seemed to have gone as pale as the black-haired beauty herself, though for a different reason. "I know what happened to your father and what Max did to try and prevent your father from leaving. I know how Max tried to console you, but you kept pushing her away. How you reacted when her parents didn't even leave her a real choice before moving to Seattle. You wanted her to hurt just as bad as you hurt at that time but what you did to Max and what you pushed her into is far worse than what happened to you. You have no idea what she has actually been through."

A numb silence settled over the pair as the last words the black-haired woman in the leather-jacket had said hit the nail on the head, which the blue-nette couldn't deny. She didn't know what had happened to her former best friend. The snippets of information she had coaxed from Max's father were only that – snippets. What she had found out on the internet was scarcely more and only confirmed parts of what she had heard from Cassandra at the first time they'd met, but still Max remained what Rachel had called her in the evening before the concert – a total enigma.

"You are right. I don't know what Max has been through. And I might not have the right to ask you this, but I have to know." This time it was the blue-haired punk-girl's voice's turn to falter as she barely could contain or grasp what she felt at that moment. She could barely hear herself speak as her heart pounded as if it would either burst or try to jump right out of the blue-nette's chest, for now it was not only dread that reigned in her mind, but desperation and a desperate hope, which seemed to slip farther out of her grasp the more she tried to get hold of it. "Tell me everything. Please."

"Why should I?" The simple question materialised a thought which Chloe feared to admit, but in the black-haired girl's eyes she could see the answer and the same desperate hope, the same desperate feeling her own heart felt but dared not utter aloud.

"Because you love her. Because seeing her happy is the one thing you truly want. And because I might help you mend the ties you broke." The words felt like boiling tar in her throat. A mixture of emotions she didn't want to face and couldn't explain fought for dominance in her mind and heart. She knew that what she was doing right now was not only selfish, but cruel to the other woman as well. She despised herself at that moment nearly just as much as she had despised the young girl sitting in front of her just about two days ago when she had first heard the first snippets of information about Max from her. And still she did it, though she knew there would be a price to pay.

It was only after they had talked, or to be more precise, after Cassandra had talked and Chloe had interrupted her to ask additional questions in a feeble voice, long into the evening hours and after bringing her former best friends' ex-girlfriend to the only motel she knew in the town, paying for the woman's stay for two more nights with money borrowed from her mother, that on getting back into the pickup-truck the blue-nette would allow herself to silently weep. For her former best friend and for her own confused heart.

* * *

-Magdalena / Wires-

* * *

The evening had developed in a completely different way than she had initially expected it to and if anyone would ask her, she'd say that the last two days had actually been one huge mess and this evening was just the topping, but still, here she was – taking her time off from everything, dancing, enjoying the music, the party as such and waiting with anticipation and a slight tremor in her heart for the photography teacher to show up.

Or at least, that was what she thought she'd be doing right now, but the reality turned out to be quite different and if there truly was something sending her heart fluttering, it wasn't because the man in question would have turned up at the party or would have even started a conversation with her.

No, the reason was a breath-taking performance delivered by no other than the rocker-gal and her band-mates which seemed to have come back to the town from Seattle just for this very concert, which in turn had been completely unannounced by the flyers and posters Nathan and his buddies had put up at the school at the beginning of the week.

She had been actually looking forwards to DJ Doom's performance as the party should have taken place in the pool-area of the Academy, which would have been perfect for the rave and dark house music in an combination with the lights at the pool and the chill atmosphere. But a change in the schedule for the DJ's performances had been suddenly announced, which had threatened to throw off the party and with that the blonde girl's awaited meeting with the older, but certainly attractive man. Nathan had been freaked out by the prospect of having to cancel the party. As if his life would depend on it taking place...

She had found him wandering around the small park in front of the main building of the Academy just the day before, angrily screaming at somebody at the other line of his phone and although his behaviour could be most of the times partially written off to the drugs, meds and the amount of alcohol he'd normally consume, this had appeared more than odd to the young woman with the feather-earring. She had still tried to console him, but it had still taken her the better half of an hour to calm the young man down enough to make him sit down with her at the bench further off at the parking lot and explain what was actually happening. What had worried her more was that by the time they he had finished explaining the situation, the young man with light brown, short cut hair had threatened to either fall into a panic attack, which definitely wasn't typical for him, or to lash out at anything and anybody.

It had taken her another hour of insistently talking to him to persuade the distressed man in the red sports-jacket to actually listen to her proposal of approaching Max and her band to perform a concert as a stand-in for the absent DJ. In the end Nathan had reluctantly agreed and contacted the young rocker, still fretting if the music, which the woman with red-brown hair would most probably play, would go along with the already put-up setting of the party and if she'd actually agree to play. To their great surprise – the rocker-gal had appeared to have thought of organising a small concert on her own and this stand-in gig was a great opportunity to get to play a concert without having to organise it from scratch. She had agreed to play on a few minor concessions from Nathan's side, which the man was more than willing to make if it meant for the party taking place.

Rachel had actually had to vouch for the rocker-gal's band being the right stand-in for the party, but if she'd heard her sing and play once before and thought she and her band were good, nobody would have been able to prepare her for the concert they threw at the Vortex Club party.

All in all they had performed about twenty songs from various bands, genres, subgenres, and about six more original songs, before the keyboardist of the band had taken over the role of the DJ and continued to play a myriad of songs and mixes. The overall tune had been not only fitting the mood of the party perfectly, but had turned the party on for real.

And so here she was - standing at the improvised bar, glass in hand, and staring at the rocker-gal who slowly made her way towards the drinks-and-snacks corner as her heart beat heavily in her chest.

She wasn't really sure she'd be able to look either Chloe, or Frank, or Mr Jefferson in the eye at the moment, for her head was still filled with the sounds and images of the alluring, if not haunting, interpretation of the song 'Magdalena' from A Perfect Circle. She felt like the sultry, velvety voice of the young woman with the wolf and the butterfly tattoo had put her under a spell, as her movements had hypnotised and captured her throughout the duration of the song.

"Well, if this isn't quite the change of attire?" The woman with red-brown hair teased the blonde girl with the feather-earring, when she had finally reached the bar and unceremoniously reached behind it to produce a bottle of beer, which she opened by hitting off the bottle-cap against the corner of the improvised bar.

Rachel could feel her cheeks grow hot. Indeed she had changed her normal go-by party-outfit for something she hadn't worn in quite a while. The young woman wore a black leather-jacket with a number of stitched on logos of various bands and slogans, a matching black-violet t-shirt depicting a grinning skull, slightly ripped black jeans and boots. A few accessories and the half-Mohawk styled hair gave her the image of a rebel and a rocker. She wasn't even sure why she'd done it. The blonde girl tried to convince herself that it was for the sake of making a brand new impression on the photography teacher, but it only covered parts of the reason, which she couldn't explain to herself. 'Just what the hell is wrong with me?'

"If I wouldn't know better I'd dare say you want to try and impress someone." The rocker-gal gave her a lopsided grin and took a long pull from the bottle she'd just opened.

"Not really. Just felt like it and did it. Nothing more to it." The blonde girl with the feather-earring felt like her cheeks were on fire. Max was close. Too close. The rocker-girl with the black, but slightly too short sleeveless shirt had settled with her back against the bar right next to the blonde woman and was looking out to the pool and the dance area, where the rest of the party-goers were enjoying themselves. For some reason Rachel couldn't really tear her eyes away from the red-brown haired rocker and the sideways glance started to wander. Max was the embodiment of alluring and it seemed to the blonde girl that she wasn't the only one who had noticed the slightly exposed navel, the tightly fitting black jeans and the ripped physique. The red lipstick seemed to shimmer in dim light with the colour of blood. The woman with the half-Mohawk styled hair had to admit that the rocker-gal certainly knew how to attract looks, but for some reason she couldn't get around the fact that the rocker had a strange glint in her eyes. The blue orbs seemed to be filled with something that she could only describe as a mix between amusement, shouldering anger and chilling, ice-cold rage.

"No? Oh, well. If you say so." The look she gave Rachel seemed to pump all the blood that had risen to her cheeks to her ears as she felt how her whole face was most probably aglow at that moment. But the woman next to her turned to look at the party-goers again, as if scanning the crowd for someone. "You'd fit right in with this outfit, you know. In a punk or rock band, I mean." Before Rachel could answer, however, the rocker-gal apparently spotted the one she had been looking for. "There you are, you little dipshit!" The exclamation of the rocker-gal was somewhere between wry amusement and ice-cold rage. For a moment there was something in the young rocker's eyes, which frightened Rachel and sent shivers down her spine. If looks could kill, Max would have murdered the person she was glaring at in the most brutal way possible. But then, just as quickly as it had appeared – the strange look on Max's face vanished. "Listen, lollypop. I gotta go and clear some things up. Try to remember what I told you at the beach, ok?" She smiled at the dumbfound blonde girl before she turned and made her way through the crowd.

"Rachel? Rachel Amber? Colour me surprised, but I barely recognised you." She'd recognised the voice already after the first two words. The blonde woman turned towards the photography teacher and couldn't supress neither the smile that involuntarily spread on her face, nor the giddy, but slightly uneasy feeling in her stomach. "I knew you could be quite the rebel, but seeing you in this attire, I have to say that it suits you exquisitely." The older man smiled at her as he continued. "You look fantastic. A few touches here and there and maybe a slightly different scenery and you'd look like the perfect model for the a new portfolio project I've thought to start working on." She was thankful for the dim lights at the bar-section of the pool-area as she was quite certain that had the lights been full on the man would have seen that her face had turned a bright crimson from blushing.

"Oh, I don't really think I'd be that great, Mr Jefferson, but I ain't gonna deny that I am pretty fit for modelling." She shot him a toothy grin and the man laughed with warm hearted amusement.

"That you certainly are, Rachel. Someday the photographers will claw at each other just for you to grace them with a few poses for even fewer shots. You have what it takes to make it big, if you ever truly decide to get in front of the lens and not behind it." He mused for a moment before adding, "Though I have to say it would be quite a shame if you'd decide to quit photography, as you really have a good eye for what brings out the essence in a picture."

"I am learning from one of the most acclaimed new artists on the West Coast." The blonde girl gave back as much as she received and smiled happily when the man played being surprised and bowed slightly to the woman that had just made a compliment by just telling the truth.

"You are too kind." Mr Jefferson intoned with a small smile playing on his lips and let his look swipe across the area filled with party-goers. "It's quite a party, it seems. I have to admit, I had not expected that or such a good performance. Regrettably though I only got to see the end of the performance of the group they had arranged for this time."

"They were great, right? I mean, Max totally rocked this place." To Rachel's own surprise the praise she had intended to come out as cool and nonchalant sounded like she'd swoon over the young rocker, who by the time was nowhere to be seen. The teacher, however, didn't seem to have noticed as he sipped from the drink he had just taken from the bar.

"That was Max Caulfield? Who would have thought? Sure, I heard the rumours and complaints of her playing the guitar in the dorms, but if that was really her, then I have to say her on-stage and off-stage personas are quite different." The man thought aloud, but didn't seem to be too interested in that particular topic. "Was that what you were talking about earlier?" He gave the young woman a toothy smile as he continued. "Sorry, I just saw you two talking from a distance and didn't want to butt in. I had actually hoped you two might be discussing my proposition of working together on the next project."

"No, not really. Max was just thirsty and wanted to get a drink. We didn't talk as much." Rachel replied casually, but she had to admit, that part of her regretted not having talked to the rocker a bit more when she had been there a few moments before.

"Oh. Well, I guess it still has time, but think about it." The man winked at her as he too turned to look at the party-goers. "By the way, have you perhaps seen Nathan today? I actually had hoped to talk to him about his portfolio earlier after class, but as he didn't attend I just assumed I'd be able to meet him here."

"Sorry, can't say that I have. I had actually hoped to see him here today too as he seemed awfully stressed out yesterday and I had quite a hard time to calm him down…" The blonde girl mused but her eyes were locked on the man standing next to her.

"Pity. But…" The teacher turned his head so he could see the shorter woman directly in the eyes. "Actually, maybe this is good either way, as I wanted to talk to you about a few things as well. Though I have to say, this place is a bit crowded and the music is making it quite hard to hear one's own thoughts." He smiled at her and the blonde woman with the feather-earring could fell how the blood shot to her face again as she anticipated his next words. "What do you say? Let's go to the VIP-lounge? I believe there should be some corners that are a bit quieter and more appropriate for talking without having to half-shout." His smile broadened even more when the girl nodded eagerly.

' _Shit! Get yourself together, Rachel! You're all over him again. Subtly and casually is the way you have to approach this if you are certain that this is what you want._ ' A small voice in the woman's head argued, but she dismissed it nearly immediately as the sensation of her boldly grabbing the man's hand and leading the way to the VIP-lounge had the blood pumping through her ears, deafening her for everything but the heavy beating of her heart.

It all felt like a sweet, warm haze as she talked to the man about anything really… He knew so much, had seen so much and at the same time retained his own view on the world. Some things of what he talked about sounded a bit cryptic, scary even, but at the same time he'd radiate this aura of wisdom and acceptance. Though she couldn't say if he was interested in her in the same way she felt about him as he was a mature man, who had experienced much more than the country-side hick that she was, she sure had a feeling that he was fond of her in his own way.

They drank, they talked, they laughed and though she still felt shy around the older man she could imagine only a few ways this evening could get any better. Rachel took another big gulp from her drink to try and drown out these recurring thoughts, but a look at the man, who was still talking to her brought them back instantaneously. How many drinks had she had? Five? Six? Maybe more… She couldn't really tell. Though he's cautioned her to go easy on the drinks, the photography teacher had complied with her wishes for new refreshments and had been even so kind to get them some snacks. Had someone asked her what time it was or how long they'd talked, she wouldn't be able to tell either, for to be frank – she didn't really care at this point anymore. This was the most fun and really the best evening the young woman with the half-Mohawk hairdo had had in quite a while and with all the stuff she had to deal with the last month and particularly this week – she deserved a topping for a shitty week, even if it'd mean that the topping was a diamond on top of a pile of dung.

For a moment her thoughts turned to the blue-haired punk-girl whom she'd promised to meet up the day before and help her talk to her former best friend, but the blue-nettes' absence after she herself had repeatedly texted and called the blonde girl to come to the classroom so that they could talk to Max had gotten her more annoyed than worried as she'd learned from the other students that for some reason her best friend had just taken off again after just arriving at the school. Still, the more she talked to the attractive teacher and well-known photographer the more she thought about breaking the truth to her best friend. ' _She'll totally freak on me… just like Frank…_ ' That particular discussion a few hours ago had not gone down very well and knowing the blue-haired punk's personality the thought of confronting her directly with this seemed to be out of question. ' _Still, I'll have to do it somehow eventually... This cannot drag on…_ '

As she pushed these thoughts away the dizzy, but certainly emboldened young woman thought of maybe advancing the conversation a bit in a different way, when the man received a phone call and begged her to wait a few minutes as it was related to a side-job he'd been working on and which he couldn't allow himself not to take. Slightly put-off the young woman slowly swirled the rest of the drink she had in the glass, as the contemplated whether to make a move once the man was back, as he'd said he'd go outside of the pool-house, but regardless of how much she tried to concentrate, it just didn't work. She felt too dizzy. Normally she'd be able to hold her liquor quite well and could outdrink most of her friends, but today felt… odd. The thought of it having something to do with the drugs she'd gotten from Frank before the whole thing with the discussion escalated snuck through her mind, but even then she could feel how sleep and daze took control over her and slowly dimmed her vision.

She didn't manage to put the glass on the small table of the improvised booth which had been set up in the section of the VIP-lounge they had retreated to. Neither did the blonde woman see the older man re-enter the small corner of the VIP-lounge with a smile on his lips.

"We'll have to continue our discussion a bit later, I'm afraid." The man spoke quietly as he stepped closer to the woman lying on the couch in a drug-induced sleep. "But I'm sure you'll enjoy the next couple of hours we'll be able to spend together just as much as I will. Well, maybe not. But I assure you, the results will be magnificent." He already bent down to pick the sleeping girl up, when something hit him hard on the side of the neck, making him gasp for air and nearly robbing him of his vision as black dots started do dance in an increasing number before his eyes. As he slumped to his hands and knees, he only vaguely registered the following hit to his stomach, knocking the rest of the air from his lungs and prompting him to drag in a wheezing breath. The effort of trying to look for the unexpected assailant was met with a boot connecting to his jawing which sent him sprawling on the ground. The last thing he heard before unconsciousness took hold of him was the faint voice of a woman and even though he was lying face down in the drinks spilled by the blonde girl lying on the couch, when she had apparently tried to place her glass next to his on the small table, he felt a pang of fear shoot through him, for the voice held something within it, which his consciousness, even if it wouldn't be fading at the moment, couldn't exactly place in any category... For the first time in his life since he had first started this little side-project of his with the obsession over the frailty of the human mind and the faint line between purity evolving into corruption – he felt dread.

"Still in the habit of talking to your victims, huh?" The woman knelt down on one knee next to the man, but he couldn't see her as his vision was failing him and his glasses had been shattered by the kick he had received. "I told you once already – 'you shouldn't disturb sleeping beasts'." A powerful hand grabbed him by the hair and smashed his forehead hard against the floor. It was the last thing he registered on that evening.

The young woman with the red-brown hair stepped over the knocked-out man and picked up the sleeping woman as with a sigh. "You just don't listen, Drums, do you? C'mon, time to get you home." On the way out of the VIP-lounge and the building as such the young woman took care to use the back door of the building as she already had discovered that no one was guarding it and that thanks to Nathan's influence on the school someone had switched off the cameras. As she carried the blonde woman with the feather-earring to the shabby old 1979 Impala Station Wagon she'd bought only a day before for little less than 700 dollars, the rocker-gal wondered how the woman in her arms differentiated from the countless versions of Rachel Amber she'd met before. The versions she'd tried to rescue, had failed to rescue or which being rescued had only led to even greater misery. For a moment a fierce hatred for the young, beautiful girl soared up in her chest as memories of various 'pasts' and 'presents' started to load her mind, but she managed to supress them and concentrate on what she had to do. She'd done it a few times already with varying success. She would make sure that this was the last. ' _No more rewinds._ '

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **Hey, guys and gals. Ok, it's official – work is killing me. :D As the last couple of weeks had me work on a bunch of assignments overtime again I had barely any time left to continue the story and for now it seems the next chapter could take just as long as this one.** **Really sorry that I couldn't get this one out as originally planned. Hope you'll like it.**

 **With that said - cheers and have a great day and a wonderful next week ;)!**

 **Yours,**

 **Bovragor**


	15. Chapter 15

**WARNING:**

 **All characters and the story upon which this fanfiction is based are property of Dontnod Entertainment and Square Enix. I don't own anything.**

 **As this is my first story to be published here, I will be happy about every reviews - both good and bad as only so I can know what I have to improve. :)**

 **Rated M for crude and strong language at times, violence and mature content.**

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- _Her_ Infernal Majesty / Killing Loneliness-

* * *

"Rachel? Where the hell have you been? I tried to call you, like, a hundred times?" Chloe angrily said as she picked up the cell-phone from where she'd thrown it on the bed. She was in no good shape. The things Cassandra had revealed were constantly gnawing at her self-respect and confidence, undermining the very essence of the world she'd build around herself – a world where Max was the one with the good life, while she'd suffered. To say these revelations were disturbing would be a massive understatement, hard as they were to believe, but if what the woman with raven-black hair had said was true – how could she ever hope to make it up to her former best friend? How could she ever hope to redeem herself in the eyes of the young rocker-gal? These thoughts had kept her awake until late in the evening of the previous day and at night had plagued her as nightmares. And it had only further fed the silent, ever-growing despair and fear that had coiled in her gut like a venomous snake - the fear of having no possibility of ever regaining what had been lost and destroyed – their friendship.

Still, even as part of her so desperately wanted to see her former best friend again and somehow win her back – mend what had been broken – the fear of being confronted by it all had won out in the end and the young punk had spent the rest of the day in her hideout, thinking, over-thinking, despairing and trying to get a hold of Rachel.

Rachel Amber - her best friend for over five years now. The woman she so endearingly, though only secretly, called her angel. Her best friend and on-and-off-lover-of-sorts, which though becoming somewhat random and restless over the last year still cared for and looked out for her. The one who had promised she'd be there to support her. The one she'd gone through so much with… The one who had not called, texted or even somehow given her a sign over the last two days…

This very same person was the one she needed right now, but whilst the first things she'd gotten down top-notch – getting hold of the woman she had proven to be far more difficult. She'd thought of going to the Academy at one point or to Rachel's parent's house, but for all she had imagined or decided she could and would do – the fear she so badly dreaded to name and address – had clamped down her mind and body for so long and until the point where the only logical thing to do was drive back home and continue her contemplations there. Of course – there had been no real difference between sulking and falling into the abyss of self-pity and self-loathing at home and doing the same at the junkyard…

"Wow. Real smooth, Blue-Jay. Five years of not seeing each other and this is the way you thank the person who's bringing your zonked-out friend's ass over in one piece, so that you could take care of her." The voice of a woman replied from the other end of the line. The sound of that voice triggered three emotions to well up in the punk-girl's chest at the same time – confusion, hope and sheer panic.

"Max? What the-? What are you doing there? How did you get a hold of Rachel's phone? What happened?" Chloe stammered after a few seconds as her mind slowly came to realize what was happening and her throat suddenly started to feel as dry. It was only due to this fact that she hadn't actually spoken louder and probably woken everything in the whole neighbourhood. After all – it was nearly 4 A.M. and had it not been for all the things going on and the thoughts in her head keeping her awake, she'd probably been fast asleep already.

"Figures that would be the first thing you ask…" There was a note of hurt in the young rockers' voice, but from the sound alone Chloe could tell that her former best friend was slightly smiling at the other end of the line. How did she know this? It had always been theses small things she'd be able to tell about the young woman who for so long had been only a ghost in her world – a memory of a different time... Still, it had been true back when they were kids and it was now. "Anyways, you sure as hell are a bad lookout. I'm already at the front of your house for the last twenty minutes. It just took me a while to find and get into Sleeping Beauty's phone here."

Max had barely mentioned being at the front of her former best friends' house, when she already could hear the young punk-girl scrambling to get somewhat dressed and bolt down the stairs.

' _This is it, Max._ ' For a second the young woman with red-brown hair grabbed the steering wheel of her new-old car with such force that her knuckles went white, staring straight out in front of her, not focusing on anything, but battling down the intense emotions that had boiled up in her just by hearing her Chloe's voice, just by the prospect of seeing her again, talking to her… ' _My Chloe, huh?_ ' A wry, mirthless smile hushed over her lips before she forced it and every other emotion from her face. She had to steel herself for what was to come, but truth was that she knew she couldn't steel herself for it. Regardless of how many times she'd played it out in her head.

It was only a few moments later when she saw the door of the house left of her car swing open and the blue-nette running out onto the small patch of front-lawn with a puzzled look on her face as she noticed the vehicle parking in front of the house. Max took a deep breath and exhaled before she opened the door and slowly got out of the car.

* * *

When she opened her eyes the first thing that she registered was that it was still slightly dark outside though a speck of dim light falling through the half-closed curtains indicated that sunrise was not so far away. Despite that she could tell her vision was somewhat fuzzy as she felt slightly dazed and still had not regained full control of her limbs. The blonde woman managed to prop herself up a bit on one elbow as she fought down a growing sense of panic. From the feeling of the fabric of the matrass she was lying on and the general layout of the room she was in she could tell she was not in her own room, but at a place that over the last four years had become very close to a second one.

' _What the hell happened? Did I black out or something?_ ' The young woman with the feather-earring tried to discern what exactly had transpired on that evening, but found she could scarcely recollect what had happened after she'd seen Max and started talking to the photography teacher. ' _Did Mr Jefferson bring be back here?_ ' She was still wondering why the teacher would have brought here to this particular place, though the most logical explanation was that he simply didn't know her address and thus had to rely on what he knew about her and her friends. Still - the thought of having passed out during the party and the high-point of their conversation seemed like the worst possible thing that might have happened. There were other possibilities too, but those were rather unlikely as from what she could tell – she was still dressed, still had everything on her and didn't feel anything unusual in her lower parts. Had anything like _that_ happened, she'd be able to tell. ' _So we didn't make out and didn't have sex. I must have fallen asleep while he was out talking on the phone and then he brought me home._ ' As her mind slowly worked through the daze a small, spiteful and (she had to admit to herself) somewhat dirty part of her felt slightly cheated, but mostly she felt awful for it meant the man she'd partially hoped to impress and partially had wanted to ensnare had seen her at one of the lowest points and had even acted like a chevalier. She felt how her cheeks burned with embarrassment. Her thoughts were so fixed on figuring out the possible answer to her question of how she got here and what had happened to her that at first she didn't notice the figure sitting on the chair at the desk with only the desk-lamp on, which glowed dimly and had been turned away from her, so that it wouldn't hurt her eyes, when she'd wake up, and was staring at a picture – lost in thought as well.

"Slept well, Rach?" The voice of the young woman sitting at the desk rang out in the silence, prompting the startled blonde to turn towards her, or at least to turn as much as possible towards her, as Rachel still hadn't regained full motoric control over her feet.

"Chloe! Oh, erm… hey. Yeah, I suppose I was really zonked out, huh?" The blonde girl stammered surprised by the seemingly sudden appearance of the punk-girl, though it was her room and her home, and felt flustered at her own state.

"Yeah. Pretty much… I assume the party was hella great, hm?" The sarcasm and slight notes of jealousy were not lost on the blonde woman with the half-Mohawk hairdo. Even in the state she was in she could tell that her friend was really pissed, though as to why – she could guess the options.

Rachel looked away to one side, not wanting to start quarrelling with her best friend, and let silence fall over the two of them. More pressing questions were bothering her fogged mind and a dispute with the blue-nette was definitely not a thing she needed right now. A few moments passed before the blue-haired punk spoke up again, having returned to staring at the picture in her hand.

"It was Max who brought you here, if that is what you're wondering about." Her voice was quiet and calm again, but for someone who normally would react way more harshly and drastically this was an indication that the punk-girl was not really feeling great. It was obvious to the blonde woman that her friend was trying to supress what she felt or thought. Still, the remark had an effect on her and she felt how the blood rushed to her head. Somehow the prospect of her being taken here by the rocker-gal seemed even worse than the prospect of Mr Jefferson bringing her to her friends' home.

"Oh…" She muttered as her eyes slid down to the floor in embarrassment and a new set of thoughts rushed through her mind. How had this come to pass? Had Jefferson asked Max to take her home and Max had just assumed it would be easier to bring her to Chloe or had Max found her herself? None of the thoughts and half-daze-induced theories made much sense, but as her mind worked furiously on patching together the most plausible reason and explanation for her being in the situation she was in her look shifted to the photo that the young woman with the blue hear at the desk was holding in her hands. It was a picture of Chloe and Max dressed up as pirates from a time just before Max had moved to Seattle, but as she focused on it and the young woman holding it another thought dawned upon her. ' _Oh hell…_ '

* * *

"Hey, Chloe." The young woman standing in front of the punk-girl greeted with a thin smile on her lips, but keeping her voice and face otherwise devoid of any emotion. Had there not been a slight breeze outside, the tension between the two former best friends at that moment might have been enough to take solid form as the moments where none of them spoke stretched on.

"Max." That was the first and only thing Chloe could manage to respond as her own thoughts and emotions stumbled one over the other and tried to get control over her mind and the words she could, that she would and that she shouldn't say. The rocker-gal had come around the front of the car and was now leaning on the bonnet.

"Look, Rachel's on the passenger seat pretty much zonked-out. She had a wild night and will probably sleep in for quite some time, so I guess it would be best if you'd take her someplace she can sleep more comfortably." It was the first thing the rocker with the nose-piercing said after another quite uncomfortable silence had stretched on for long moments. As she said it, she'd turned her head to where the young blonde woman had reclined against the seat of her car. It felt like she'd said something completely different from what she'd initially intended to say.

Another set of thoughts and small flashes of information raced through the young punk-girls' mind. ' _Whoa! Look at that nose-piercing! And that outfit! I mean, look at those abs!_ ' A part of her mind tried to tear her eyes away from the young rocker-gal, who in Chloe's opinion looked like a bona fide badass with a touch of sass. ' _And what the hell does all of this mean? What the hell happened to Rachel and what did she do to her? How the hell does it even come to this whole situation?_ ' Another more confused, jealous and fearful part of herself piped in. ' _Just… look at her. Look at the way she bears herself…_ ' A deeper, more concerned part of her mind spoke up.

The young girl she'd known as Max Caulfield was no longer there. The teen and young woman Chloe had imagined her to have become had never existed… And still, there was something there. Something like an old ache. She could see that the woman with the matching black boots and jeans was clearly not speaking her mind. That there was something more… And had Cassandra not told her quite a bit about it all? Had she not hear what had happened? Couldn't she believe it knowing Max? Couldn't she believe it to be true knowing the one person, who once had been her best friend? A friend and the friendship she had longed for in the years of her absence? ' _The years of her absence…_ ' The chaotic spiral of thoughts halted for a moment as another emotion grabbed hold of her. She knew this was most definitively not something she needed or wanted to say. Her heart and mind screamed at her to hold her tongue behind her teeth and remain silent. But the venom like feeling spat out the words even as her mind spun and she felt like somebody had suddenly thrown her into a bottomless pit and she was now in free-fall.

"That is it? Five years of bailing and now this? A simple 'Hey Chloe'." ' _Shut up!_ ', Chloe's own voice screamed in her head, ' _Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up! Please, don't do this!_ ' "You come back without a word, throw one party after the other and don't even care to chat up or contact your former best friend. You get my real best friend dead drunk and what not and now you just appear out of nowhere? Wow. You hella are the Max Caulfield I remember." The words left such a galling aftertaste in her mouth that for a moment Chloe thought she might be sick. She hadn't noticed the young rocker turning and just staring at her without uttering as much as a word and as she became aware of it to the blue-haired punk it became almost physically painful to wait through the ensuing silence that settled between.

What had she done? What had she just said? She felt like running away, falling to the ground and crying and begging for forgiveness at the same time. And still, neither did she move, nor fall.

* * *

"The way Max looked at me then…" The young punk with the blue hair and her trade-mark beanie just sat there not moving as a dull silence started to stretch. Rachel had seen Chloe on bad days and hard times, but this – this was different. Completely different.

* * *

"What did you expect?" The voice of the woman with brown-red hair was cold and devoid of any emotion. "Did you think I'd fall to my knees and beg you to take me back into your world?" The rocker-gal eased away from the car and started to move slowly towards Chloe and though it was still dark the single beam of light that fell from the street-lantern and illuminated the small front-lawn made it possible for Chloe to see her former best friends' eyes as she moved closer. "Did you think I'd ask for forgiveness that my parents decided to move to 'Fuck-town-up-north'?" Though her expression changed only a little it was the eyes which betrayed her emotions. The blue-nette could see how every word strained and hurt the young woman walking towards her, though there was something strange – it looked like the pupils of Max's eyes dilated and narrowed with each step, seemingly without the rocker herself noticing. "Or did you think I'd jump up and down like a moronic tween, squealing with joy of seeing you again?" Her tone slightly changed as she was already only an arm's length away from the stunned and petrified punk-girl. Chloe could see her eyes grow cold for a split second before a desperate expression settled on Max's face and cleared out any other emotions that had previously played in her eyes. It was like something had given way and laid bare emotions in the shorter woman, which had been supressed for far too long to be contained anymore.

With a violent tug at the collar of her shirt the rocker-gal brought her former best friend to her eye-level.

"You abandoned me! You were hurting, but _you abandoned me_!" Her voice cracked as her emotions threatened to overwhelm her completely. "You pushed me away, when I tried to help you and when I returned you abandoned me again! You selfishly asked the impossible of me again and you abandoned me!" By now silent tears had started to roll down the slightly younger woman's cheeks, but she seemed not to notice. For a moment it seemed that time around them had frozen still as the only thing Chloe could see was the pained expression and the desperate, nearly pleading look in the young girl's eyes, rendering her oblivious to everything and anything else.

As sudden as the moment had come it passed on as Max let go of her shirt and partially pushed Chloe away from herself, as if to ward of anything she might say. But what could she have said? There was nothing at that moment in the young punk's mind except the image that had burned itself into the retina of her eyes. The look on Max's face. There was nothing she could say as her emotions were going haywire and her thoughts playing crazy. Yes, there was a huge rift between them. A rift she herself had partially caused (maybe even more than partially), but for all that had been or might have been or even could still be, at that moment none of it really mattered to her. It was so strange. So very strange and unsettling, but at that moment everything else felt numb and distorted and the only real thing was the woman turning away from her and starting to walk towards the car. It was out of this deep, unnamed and unspoken desire to regain the one person she had once trusted more than anyone besides her parents that prompted Chloe to act.

She didn't think when she grabbed for Max's hand. She hadn't even thought of what to say or what to do once she got hold of the young girl with the matching black boots and jeans. There was nothing really there besides the subconscious understanding that if she was to let the girl walk away without responding somehow – she'd never see her again. She knew it somehow. Felt it deep within her heart.

It took the blue-nette's mind a couple of seconds before it registered that she indeed had succeeded and caught her former best friends' hand, stopping her for a moment from moving forward. It took her mind even longer to concentrate on anything she might or should say as her vision seemed to be focused on the woman in front of her, silently watching, with an expression that threatened to burst Chloe's heart. Neither of them spoke and the moment dragged on in silence, while her mind screamed for the blue-haired punk to say something.

"Max, I-" Chloe didn't manage to complete whatever she was about to say, when the sudden sensation of the shorter, but clearly stronger woman's grip on her waist materialised in her head, followed by the realisation of the sweet taste of the rocker-gal's lips against her own mixed with the salt in her tears.

Slightly reeling the punk girl broke the kiss, only now noticing the hand the other woman retracted from her hair. She hadn't intended to reciprocate. She hadn't intended to deepen the kiss. She loved the woman leaning back in the passenger-seat in the car in oblivious slumber. She loved Rachel. Her angel… She couldn't explain it. It was as if for a moment her body had just acted on its own, as her heart swelled with emotions she dared not to name and her mind scrambled to gush another wave of self-loathing over her. But that kiss… For the heartbeats it lasted – it had felt so right, so true… And though the feeling she had when she made out with Rachel was breath-taking in the most direct interpretation of the word, this… this one kiss had felt so pure… so real, so warm. Like for a moment the moon and stars she had adored so long had been switched for the sun she'd yearned for.

The sudden realisation of it all sent her mind stumbling and her heart hammering in her chest. A surge of shame, fear and confusion took control of her mind when the rocker-gal's hand reached up to cup her cheek. She hadn't intended to shove her away. She hadn't intended to shrug back at the small gesture of love and care. Again her mind was awfully slow to register everything that was going on, but in the next moment the warmth of feeling the other woman's body against her own was gone. As was the sensation of feeling the heartbeat of the young girl with the butterfly-tattoo. As were the overwhelming feelings that had possessed her for a moment, leaving her bare for the anguish of self-doubt, self-loathing and sheer disbelief and panic at the whole situation. It must have shown on her expression, for as the rocker-girl steadied herself the look of pure, desperate love, desperation and hopelessness slowly morphed into a forced and pained smile, while new tears trickled down from the corners of her eyes. Chloe hadn't noticed how she had moved her arms in a tight hug around herself, as if to ward off the young woman in front of her. A moment passed in deafening silence before the rocker finally turned and, without looking back, spoke to the stunned blue-nette.

"Come on, Blue-jay. Get your angel out of my car and I'll be on my way. I'm through here." It was the way she said it that held an edge of finality to it, indicated – this was really it. This was the end of the whole situation. For her at least...

It was long after Chloe had picked up the sleeping blonde and watched the girl with the nose-piercing drive away at breakneck speed before she had actually moved to carry Rachel into the house and to her room. An even longer time passed before the numb feeling in her mind seceded allowing her to focus on any thought really, though in her state the young punk-girl dreaded that maybe even more than anything else. What was she to do? What was she to think? What was she to feel? Only the ominous feeling of someone having torn away the very ground beneath her feet still lingered in her gut…

Again, as if acting on its own her body had reached into a box hidden beneath her bed, fishing out an old picture of her and her former best friend dressed up as pirates. It had been taken only a short while before her father's death. Before Max's family had moved to Seattle.

Chloe had remained in that pose nearly without shifting until the young blonde-woman currently lying on her bed showed the first signs of waking up.

* * *

"I don't know what to do, Rach. I just don't know what to do…" She let the blonde woman sling a still slightly disobeying arm around her shoulders and pull her back on the bed so that they lay next to each other. It was nearly the same as the first time she'd seen Max again after all these years and had talked to Cassandra for the first time. Only this time it hurt much, much worse.

* * *

Max was watching the sun slowly rise on the horizon and looked out towards the still dark ocean. She hadn't really slept that night. How could she even? The tears had dried up only long after she arrived at the parking-lot near the ocean-side. She had let them low freely, unable to hold her emotions in her anymore. She had known this would be the outcome. Chloe didn't feel the same for her as she did for the punk-girl with blue hair. But still seeing her up close, talking to her… everything had sent her thoughts and emotions tumbling and her whole resolve – crashing down. Maybe she had made a mistake by kissing her, but her own heart had betrayed her.

So much had been different. She had seen a new side of Cassandra and even if she had known the woman with raven-black hair would leave her in the end, she had still let her into her heart. It had hurt like hell, when the moment of truth came. Max herself had done many things differently. Be it by impulse, calculation, emotion or pure randomness, though she had tried out not to rely on her powers as at times they would fail her completely and leave her stranded in the bog, so to say. She had gone so far… She had hurt, hated and obsessed, but… The hollow shell where her heart was supposed to be was not so hollow after all. That pitch-black abyss was not void of those traitorous feelings. How could she ever hurt the one person that mattered most to her? How could she hurt the person she truly loved? She could never hurt her Chloe. Not like this… Not anymore. Not after seeing her, feeling her touch again, not after-… The young woman fought to keep control of the emotions she felt and to supress the thoughts and countless memories from different 'pasts' and 'presents' flooding her mind again. She just couldn't go through with what she had initially set out as her plan. She couldn't do it. Her resolve had started to crumble the day she had first seen the blue-nette dance happily with the other young woman who had been a good friend to her in many of the different 'pasts' and 'presents'. It had finally crashed completely when she had laid eyes on the young punk in question outside of her family's house.

Like a festering wound spreading corruption through her body a new, bitter resolve had risen up in her over these past few hours. Much to her own despair and disbelief, but there she was. At the beginning of a new day. It didn't actually change so much from what she originally had intended to do, but now she'd have to move a bit faster. She had decided.

It was time to tie up some loose ends. For good.

' _If that is what you truly want…_ ' an oh-so-familiar voice whispered from deep within her mind. It had never really disappeared after that one twisted nightmare-come-true and it always accompanied those painful memories from the various 'pasts' and 'presents', but Max ignored it. She'd grown used to it as she knew – it was a part of her.

The rocker with brown-red hair turned the keys in the ignition and started up the motor. It was time she got moving.

* * *

-The Czars or John Frusciante - Song to the Siren / Supergirl / Ederlezi / Korn - Get up (non-dubstep version)1-

* * *

Nearly a whole week had passed since that strange night that the last Vortex Club party took place. They'd found Nathan passed out at in one of the corners in the boy's changing-room. It appeared he'd drunk too much and couldn't really remember anything, but was convinced the whole party was a huge success. The teacher himself couldn't really say that at all, though he'd kept quiet about the whole incident. To be truthful it was quite troublesome, for there was still a slight bruise on his face, where the boot of his unknown assailant had connected with his jaw and where his head had hit the ground. His neck felt still slightly stiff and he had to turn his whole torso, whenever he wanted to look left. The most problematic thing perhaps though was that he had no idea who had been the woman who had attacked him. He knew that much from the tone of the voice, but he hadn't been able to place it at all. Not to mention he couldn't really go around the campus or even the town and chat up every woman that he'd meet just to confirm who had been the one to assault him. Back at the Academy he'd covered it up with falling down and landing in a very unfortunate way and though some of his colleagues were slightly suspecting it wasn't the truth, nobody really bothered him, as it might as well be his very personal issues he was dealing with and they respected his privacy.

It bugged him though. No. Actually he had started to wonder if he was growing paranoid, for while he had played it cool and kept a low profile for these days, waiting in a makeshift ambush, nearly hoping someone would seek him out or approached him – but nothing had happened. Still the feeling of being watched, monitored and followed didn't leave him.

Involuntarily the photography teacher's eyes were drawn to the portfolio lying on his desk. It was red with stark black-and-white pictures neatly placed on black sheets of paper. Max Caulfield's attendance rate had dropped significantly after that concert she'd given on that night. Though he'd seen her on the campus grounds a few times and even had the chance to chat her up about the assignments once, she felt somehow… strange, changed and unstable… more aggressive, more prone to lashing out. It was not out of worry that the man had made these observations. Far from it. After the mysterious and unfortunate incidents with capturing young sweet Rachel, he'd set his sights on the rocker-gal, but hadn't been able to really get any closer to her or observe her more in this situation.

' _Sweet, young Rachel will have to wait 'till it's her turn again now._ ' The man thought without any mirth or any emotion really. It was his work that mattered. His project. It was so frustrating to know there could very well be another incident like the last time, which could practically mean the end of the line for him and his work. A bleak perspective that Mark Jefferson wouldn't and couldn't allow himself to start fretting over. He was so close to the creation of a masterpiece. To reach the pinnacle of his work as a photographer. He could feel it. And yet – it this whole situation threatened to shatter his dreams. His hopes. No, he wouldn't allow it.

His attention was torn from his thoughts when the young blonde woman with her trademark feather-earring stopped in front of his desk to hand in the assignments for this week. Somehow she too looked slightly worse for wear. As if something was seriously bothering her, but she couldn't really talk about it.

' _Hmm… Maybe this will not be so difficult after all._ ' An idea manifested in the older man's mind as the young woman smiled warily at him. Only now did he notice that the rest of the class had already gone. He'd forgotten that he'd written everything they'd need to prepare for the next week on the blackboard and had told them to just photograph or copy it so they don't forget before allowing them to leave. Most of those that had done their assignments had just left them on their tables.

' _This could actually prove fateful…_ '. They hadn't had the chance to really talk about anything that had happened back at the party actually. He set up his casual grin, hoping that the woman in front of him would relax at the sight of him himself being calm and composed. Or at least appearing as such.

"Rachel Amber. Still handing in the assignments on time and in person. How I wish your classmates would take you as an example and follow it." Mr Jefferson said. After seemingly starting to go over the handed in assignment, he turned to the young woman still standing at his desk in anxious silence with played surprise and concern. "Um… Is something bothering you, Rachel? Can I help you somehow?"

"Mr Jefferson…" She started, but seemed not to know how to follow up with what she wanted to say.

"Rachel, please. I think we are comfortable enough with each other to drop the formalities. Please call me Mark." The older man gave her a warm, reassuring smile. "Is it because of last Friday?" She looked slightly taken aback, but her reaction spoke volumes. The smile settled on his face and became slightly patronizing.

"Mark, listen, I don't really recall so much of our last conversation at the party. I just wanted to… apologize if I may have been somewhat pushy or… you know…" For some reason she seemed more flustered than normal when she'd talk to him.

"Rachel, you don't have to worry. You did nothing wrong and nothing like that really happened. I actually greatly enjoyed our conversation at that time, but to my regret I might not have been careful enough and should have known better to just keep the drinks coming. I sincerely apologize for that." He made his tone solemn and convincing. "It was just as I walked back from that call I had to take to find you already fast asleep on the couch, so I wanted to call a cab, but when I returned from making that call you were already gone. I hope nothing happened to you. I was actually very worried and tried to contact you, but as I only got your phone from the secretary of the principal two days ago and you didn't seem to answer my emails I could only hope you were alright." This was it – _the_ opportunity to find out something more about what had happened or maybe even who his mysterious assailant was.

"Oh… yeah… I- It seems I couldn't really hold my liquor there." The young woman with the long blonde hair replied looking away for a bit and hugging herself loosely. "It was actually M-" She couldn't finish whatever she was about to say as the teacher's phone started to vibrate and play a piece of classical music. It seemed to be some kind of alarm clock, but to Rachel it didn't really mean anything. The older man though seemed only all too aware of that particular ringtone. For a moment it seemed he'd gone pale as his eyes dilated and focused solely on the cell-phone. He quickly picked it up, silenced the alarm and tucked it away in a pocket of his jeans while he was getting up and simultaneously picking up his jacket.

"Sorry, Rachel. It seems something very urgent has come up with one of my side projects I'm working on with some of my colleagues from California. Something must have gone bad if they message me, but taking into account that the deadline for the project is very near, I can't really bail on them right now. So, I'm deeply sorry, but it seems we'll have to postpone our conversation to another time." The man forced a nonchalant and apologetic smile on his face as he talked to the stunned girl in the punk-rocker attire, while picking up everything he'd need from his desk and shutting the locker on its side. He must have appeared hurried enough for her to not ask any questions, but internally he felt the cold fingers of dread grasping at his throat. Someone had gotten into the Dark Room and set off the alarm. If this was his mysterious assailant then things might have just turned from bad to right-out disastrous.

' _Shit! Shit! Shit!_ ' The man cursed the whole town while he ran to his car not bothering to look or reply to anyone who crossed his path, though there were only few of those, as for once in a while the weather forecast had been wrong and instead of the sunny weather one would expect of this time of the year it was pouring outside and the sky had been cloudy since the early morning. The fact that it was getting darker already was not helpful either, but he couldn't be bothered by any of it. Right now too much was at stake.

When he arrived at the old Prescott barn at the outskirts of the small town it was already clear that someone had entered it. The gate was wide open, as was the door to the barn. There was no car though and no tire tracks in the dirt indicating that someone would have come here in a vehicle or left in one. Taking into account the break-neck speed at what he'd driven to the old farmstead there was a good chance that whoever was that had found the bunker-turned-dark-room was still there. He'd have to be careful.

' _The perks of experience._ ' The photography teacher thought with a twisted grin slowly spreading on his face as he took out the gun and the bottle of chloroform he'd stored in the glove compartment of his car after the incident at the Vortex Club party. He was not keen on killing people, but he had nothing against it either. When it became necessary, one just had to do, what had to be done. He'd done it before. Back in his days in Seattle. Still… getting revenge for the sleepless nights and the bruises he'd suffered was a different story, and to be frank he wasn't really above getting his hands dirty and torture. Regardless, he'd have to be careful. If one thing was clear after the incident that despite his attacker being a woman she was clearly strong enough to overwhelm him if he was not paying attention.

He lingered a bit by the door to the barn contemplating on his next move as his look drifted from the busted lock (it seemed someone had really not cared to damage private property as the lock had been smashed off along with the handle) to the door itself (the one who had busted the lock had apparently kicked it in, not really caring that it swung the other way and the old wooden door seemed loose in its hinges) and finally came to rest on the hatch, which was wide open. Light from the single lamp in the small concrete hallway was illuminating the otherwise dimly lit barn. It was only a few moments later that he came to a conclusion and started towards it.

* * *

The heavy steel door opened slightly and slowly, but without sound. It had been well tended, as actually everything in this twisted place. Nothing moved. No sounds were made. It felt like the bunker-turned-twisted-studio itself was more of a tomb than anything else. Slowly and only a long while did the door open more and more, until the barrel of a Glock 19 peaked out from behind it. Still nothing had moved and as the door was already nearly completely open, it was clear that no one was standing behind it. A tentative step forward. Shallow, quiet breathing. All in all everything felt like a late-night crime-thriller. Surreal and unrealistic, but it was reality. Another step forward, equally slow, careful and nearly without sound.

Suddenly the door slammed hard into the man standing behind it forcing him to stagger back as it swung close, crushing his hand holding the gun against the door-frame in the process. The gun went off as the sheer amount of pain from his crushed bones caused the man's hand to cramp up for a moment before the gun fell useless to the ground. In the next moment, however, the door swung back and the older man, still in shock from the searing pain in his hand, was grabbed by the collar of his coat and heaved into the room, slamming hard on his back.

Though Mark Jefferson recovered from the initial shock quite quickly and already made a move to get up and defend himself, his attacker was having none of it. Another jolt of unbearable pain shot through his body, this time though stemming from his left sheen. The teacher slumped slightly to the side but was still standing when another hard hit connected to the already hurting leg. For a moment it seemed his vision would fail him as black dots started to dance before his eyes. He could feel that his leg was broken. Unable to hold his own weight anymore the man with the custom-designed suit and coat collapsed to the ground barely managing to get his arms under himself as to slightly cushion the fall.

Immediately his attacker grabbed the man's left hand twisting it whilst using force to hold the man pinned to the ground. A twist, a jerk, an awful, tearing, popping sound of a shoulder being dislocated was followed by the cry of pain from the barely conscious man. After all – the human body could take on a tremendous amount of pain and damage, but the quick succession of inflicted pain could overload the nerves. Something like a forced shut-down for a PC. But he didn't lose his consciousness. His hand, now uselessly limp was released to flop at his side as he was turned onto his back by a black boot against his damaged shoulder.

It was only now that his vision cleared a bit and he could see the one, who so brutally had manhandled him. The lean, but clearly ripped young woman standing next to him and fixing him with a stare that could have frozen the flames of Hell was no other than Max Caulfield.

* * *

"M-Max… W-What?" Mr Jefferson started to stammer, but this endeavour met its early end as a ruthless kick to his stomach forced all air out of his lungs.

"And who exactly gave you permission to speak, Jeffer-shit? Hm? How many times do I need to repeat myself 'till you listen? 'Don't disturb sleeping beasts.' But, oh well, no going back, eh?" Max didn't even try to hide the malicious grin that slowly crept on her face, making the remark to the already injured man even more sardonic. If anything the sight of the man filled her with even more rage, with more unbridled anger and hate. He was the cause of it all. The key might be another, the answer - even more so, but he was the cause. It was increasingly hard to supress the memories from all the various 'pasts' and 'presents' she had to live through. Memories etched in her mind, deep scars in her soul and heart she was not able to bury or mend. She could feel the voice in her mind smile as maliciously as she did right now if not even more. It gnashed the razor-sharp teeth in its maw and growled with venomous joy at the scene before the young woman's eyes.

She reached down, grabbed hold of his dislocated arm and started to pull the man towards the other part of the bunker, which had been made into a studio. She ignored his yelps and cries of pain.

"You know, as crazy as it may sound, in a different time-line maybe I'd have even looked up to you, you fuck-turd." The woman with brown-red hair said as she let go of the man's hand, when she'd reached the place, where once she'd been bound to a chair. It was more a thought than anything else. Even if it was technically possible taking into account her experience with the various 'pasts' and 'presents' and the strange encounter with a certain hipster-Max. "The façade of being an honourable and deep-thinking, upcoming grand in photography now working as a teacher has convinced pretty much many people, who are into it. No one suspects you to be the twisted psychopath that you truly are."

"M-Max, what are you talking about? Have you gone crazy? I don't know what you mean!" The man stammered before pressing his lips together to stifle another gasp of pain.

"Oh, don't pretend, Jeffer-fuck. You know it was me, who knocked you out back at the party. I saw how your eyes widened in recognition of the sentence I told you back then." The young rocker replied coolly from behind the desk, where she'd booted up his computer and now was rummaging through the binders in the closet behind it, before taking out a few of binders. There was one amongst them that she hadn't expected and it nearly threatened to make her go berserk as the memories of those events flooded her mind again. For a moment she shut her eyes. It was unbearable, but she had to remain at least halfway calm if this had to work out. In theory it should be possible and the few tests she'd run over the past days had shown it _was_ possible, but she still had to be careful. "Motherfucker…" She muttered under her breath as she laid out the binders on the desk.

"What do you want?" The psychopathic teacher said after he'd painfully turned to see where the young woman was. He'd somehow gotten the gist of it that this really was something else and in his situation he was in no position to threaten the violent girl with the black hoody and matching army-boots.

"Have you seen the movie 'Taken', fuck-for-brains?" The young girl walked over to where the man was lying, but stayed a small distance away, with a look on her face as if thinking something over. The white fabric under him was slightly stained by the blood oozing through small cuts the man had received when she'd crushed his hand with the door. Mark Jefferson stared somewhat disbelievingly at his assailant. ' _What the- ? What has this to do with…?_ '

"It has nothing really to do with anything here except for the fact that people are more prone to loosen their tongues under torture. Truth be told, I don't even need any more proof to convince the authorities you are the true proprietor of the heinous crimes you've committed. But, as they say – sometimes it's hard to be satisfied, when you know you can achieve more. It is even harder if the thing you want is revenge." The ice-cold nonchalance swaying in the woman's voice as she was talking to him, sent shivers down his spine. And for the first time in his life the psychopathic man thought that he'd met someone, who is in all truth even more twisted than he was. The woman he'd been intrigued by on the first day she handed in her portfolio now seemed more like a ravenous beast-turned-human toying with its prey. Somehow he was reminded of the pictures in her portfolio and it oddly clicked together. It came as a small shock, when she resumed talking, for it was in an ominously dark and low tone. From the position he was lying in on the floor the teacher could see the young woman's eyes. Her irises were dilating and narrowing constantly as if someone was repeatedly pointing a flashlight at her eyes and then turning it off, or like she was in a trance. And… ' _Did her eyes just change their colour?_ ' "I would probably break you for just what you did to me; I'm no stranger to that. But you hurt the one person, who is most precious to me. You killed, what has become more important to me than life ever was. Than anything actually." This confused the man even more. Yes, he'd killed before, but the young girl with the black nose-piercing was too young to have been somehow related to that girl. Besides, from what he knew from the data the Academy had on its students, Max had been in Seattle at that time and he was way over in Silicon Valley. The voice of the woman walking to stand behind him drew his attention back to the here and now. "I would have hurt you for hurting Kate. I would have crippled, tortured and killed you for hurting and basically killing Rachel. I _will_ kill you for murdering my Chloe."

"What?" Mark Jefferson's eyes widened. It was true he had thought about making the stubborn punk-girl with the blue hair one of his pieces of art, but so far he'd not even really dwelled on the issue in depth. Yes, he'd thought of making Kate Marsh, the young rocker herself and the young and enticing Rachel Amber pieces of his art too. He was convinced they would have been the ones to fulfil his dream of creating a masterpiece. But like with Chloe Price, he hadn't even approached Nathan about the young religious girl, nor had he made any move himself. He hadn't even talked to the young man, who saw him as somewhat of a mentor about the rocker-gal. The plan to create the first set of pictures for his work with the young blonde with the feather-earring had been botched by Max. But in all previous cases he'd been careful with the doses and he wouldn't needlessly kill the subjects of his art if it was not outright necessary. So far he'd been able to hide everything perfectly. From everybody. How was it even possible for the rocker-gal to know anything about this place or what he did? And why did she say he'd killed the punk-girl and Rachel Amber? "You're talking crazy! You've clearly lost your mind, you dumb bitch!" He howled in pain, when the heel of the rocker-girl's boots connected to his ribs with so much force that they cracked.

"Yeah, might be even true, taking into account how many timelines I've traversed and how much I've invested to prevent it from happening in this time around." ' _Traversing timelines? She's clearly out of her mind._ ' The man thought as he tried to edge away from the young, but clearly dangerous woman. "Still, knowing that fact is not really gonna help you. Now hold still or this is going to hurt you very, very much. Or – no, please, try to struggle." From the corner of his vision the photography teacher could see that she had a syringe in her hand. A syringe that he had prepared for one of his next subjects – the rocker-gal herself.

"You crazy bitch! You'll never get away with this! They'll never believe you! You have no idea what you're messing with!" He couldn't keep the panic out of his voice. With new incentive the man tried to crawl away from the woman, but his escape was doomed, when a black boot firmly planted itself on his back. A rough hand grabbed his head by the hair firmly and the moment afterwards he could feel the needle enter his neck. It really did hurt quite much.

"If you should survive this, you'll be most probably be sentenced to capital punishment. Either way – you'll die." The woman spoke in the same menacing, low voice like at that time at the party, ignoring the man's words. "By the time you'll wake up you'll experience a tremendous amount of pain. If you don't outright die or go insane, well, more than you are now, the police will find you in no state to resist." He was already starting to feel the numbness of the drug working on his body and mind. He couldn't move. Never in his life had the man felt such fear… The last thing he heard was the young woman state mater-of-fact-like, "The necessary material to make the arrest, including a confession from you, etc., will have been sent to them anonymously by that time. Physically you won't have any wounds really, which is a pity, but it'll look like you botched something, whilst trying to take a lethal dose, when you somehow got the word that the Feds had obtained information about you and now were hot on your heels. It'll appear like I was never here, for I never will have been here. You won't remember me or anything that happened here. Guessing that you probably lied about getting away from class, which must still have gone on at that time, you won't really have an alibi, which will make everything even more convincing…" He could hear the voice taking on an even more dreadful edge. "Anyways, this is it. Lights out." A brutal hit to his head knocked the older man out in an instant.

* * *

A few days before the events at the barn.

The young rocker breathed in slowly, before letting the air out of her lungs even slower. She needed to be calm, which taking into account the task she had to perform was not really easy. Too many memories of the various 'pasts' and 'presents' popped up in her mind, blurring what was real and what not.

She knocked at the door of the apartment a certain young woman with raven-black hair was staying at. The rocker-gal had taken some pains on herself to gather this information, but if she didn't conclude this chapter of her life, then what was the purpose of this all?

The silence filing the hallway of the small and only one roadside motel of the town was crushing, but after another tension filled moment the door to the apartment opened.

"You still look beautiful, Cas." Max said with a small smile playing at the corners of her lips. Regardless of the timelines, the duality of their relationship and the inbound irony of the whole situation were not lost on her.

The young woman with the long black hair and mesmerizing green eyes looked at her in silent shock, not yet really believing her eyes or trusting herself to speak.

"May I come in?" The rocker-gal with the black nose-piercing inquired. The other woman's eyes cleared up, but she still couldn't speak due to the shock of it all and thus simply nodded her agreement, stepping aside to let the woman she so desperately had tried to contact for this entire time walk into the small room.

Max settled in the only chair that was in the room, while Cassandra sat on the edge of the bed. At first none of them spoke, but eventually Max looked at the raven-black-haired woman. She was sitting there in her nightgown, looking more like a princess that needed to be rescued than the evil witch in disguise. ' _Yeah… She needs rescuing. From herself. From all those memories. From me…_ '

"You've spoken with Chloe and Rachel, I presume?" Max asked in a low voice, that held no menace or anger. It was hard for her to be here, but Cassandra, or at least this Cassandra she now knew more intimately and deeper than probably she herself did, didn't deserve to go through all the suffering she would have in a different timeline. Not anymore at least. She had suffered enough.

A nod.

"Would you believe me if I said I could travel through time?" The question must have sounded outlandish and totally out of place to the other woman's ears, but again the answer was a nod.

"I've been cruel to you. Maybe even needlessly so…" The rocker began and for the first time in a long time a note of regret swung in the tone of her voice. She let her gaze wander to her hands, which fidgeted with a pendant on a simple leather band.

"No, Max, you never-! You've never been needlessly cruel to me!" In a heartbeat the other woman had crossed the small distance between them to fall on her knees before the young rocker, closing her hands tightly around Max's. Tears were shimmering in her eyes, but were still contained. The brave face she made in front of and for the rocker-gal wavered and was on the verge of falling away any moment. Her voice quivered and in her eyes the young woman with brown-red hair could see the other's feelings for her laid bare. ' _Yes. Most of all you need rescuing from me…_ '

"No, Cas. I have." The woman with raven-black hair vehemently shook her head, but Max stilfed any upcoming protests or interventions by first cupping the cheek of the young girl with one hand and then gently putting a finger on her lips. "Please, Cas, let me finish what I have to say." The young woman's eyes widened a bit, but eventually she nodded again.

As she talked to the young woman with the raven-black hair, explaining what she'd lived through, elaborating on things Cassandra had heard her voice in her dreams and had thought to be gruesome nightmares, the rocker-gal didn't really notice how the time went by. It had been early evening, when she'd arrived; now it was nearly morning again. The other woman hadn't disrupted or intervened in her monologue for the entire duration of it. She somehow knew it was necessary that she'd hear this, before Max would arrive at the point she wanted to make.

"Throughout all the timelines I have crossed, altered, left and restored - I have experienced so much, Cas. I have hurt, bled, been beaten and bruised. I have felt much pain, fear, anger and hate, but I also loved, felt joy and unbound happiness. I have met you countless times in countless timelines. In many various pasts and presents." The woman kneeling at her feet had let the rocker-gal draw her closer and place her head to rest on her lap. The tears were flowing freely now. It had been so long since the woman she loved so much and whom she had betrayed and hurt so badly had talked to her in the sweet, low voice she'd come to love and adore. It had been so long since they had been so close that it felt unreal to suddenly feel the warmth radiating from her body. Cassandra instinctively knew Max's next words would hurt her. She knew they would be final. She knew the woman she loved so deeply had come to see her for the last time before she'd disappear from her life forever. She knew it, but right now in this moment, she could have died and she would have died happily, for regardless of the circumstances of Max's visit the deepest wish she had had since that fateful day back in Seattle was fulfilled. A small smile played on the rocker-girl's lips and again for the first time in a long time, when she was talking to the young woman crying on her lap, her eyes softened and warmth seemed to glow in them, like small embers.

"In all those timelines I met you, you hurt me. You betrayed, played, used and abused me. I knew from all this experience that eventually you would hurt me too and that it was inevitable, though the form and time of this betrayal was different every time even if the differences were subtle." The memories flooding her mind were more than enough to bring up all the emotions she'd felt at each and every time, but she supressed them, concentrating on what she wanted to say. On what she needed to say. "But nevertheless – in every timeline I met you and in every past and present I fell in love with you. You were my first real love, Cas." A half-sob half-laugh escaped the young girl with the emerald green eyes. "You were the one truly good thing in my life at a time everything else was darkness and depression. Even if the pain you caused me drove me to near self-destruction, you were still the only person in a strange new place I could call a true friend. You made me laugh. You gave me joy and though it may not have been like that in every timeline, I know that _you_ really loved me. And that will never change. You were the one who made me the way I am. Be it for better or worse." She could feel how the woman's grip on her hand holding the identical pendant that the black-haired girl wore tightened.

"I still love you, Max." The beautiful girl's voice was barely above a croaked whisper.

"I know, Cas. But I cannot help my feelings." This time it was the rocker who slowly shook her head. "I can't ignore them. I have tried, you know?" She added with a wry smile before continuing. "I had sworn myself I wouldn't fall in love with you again at the first time we met, but I did anyway. I knew you'd abandon me, but it hurt all the same. I loved you and I hated you. I loved to hate you and hated to love you. I hated to hate you and loved to love you. But in the end it all would play out the same. I would break you in the end for doing what you did. But you don't deserve that fate… I don't know if maybe in another timeline we could've been still together and live happily, but I know that in this one we cannot and never will be. I can't ignore the feelings flooding my shattered heart and soul, but they are not yours to mend, Cas. I can't love you anymore… but despite my feelings - I forgive you…" At that the rocker-girl with brown-red hair took the other woman's head tenderly in her arms and motioned for her to look her in the eyes. "I know this isn't fair either, but I beg you to forgive me too, Cas. But most of all, I beg you to forgive yourself. The torture you've inflicted upon yourself is not what I want. Not anymore. I want you to be happy and live happily, but this happiness will not lie with me. It will be your own. You won't find it if you keep torturing yourself over me or keep chasing after me." She could see the meaning of the words and the understanding seep into the other woman's mind and heart, and reflect in her eyes, but she could also see the protest coming even before the girl opened her mouth to voice it.

"I know… But, Max, I-" Cassandra looked the woman she loved in the eyes, not flinching away from the painful words nor the even more hurtful meaning they held.

"Cas. I beg you. I know this is beyond selfish, but I still have to ask this of you." Max had lowered her head so that her brow touched Cassandra's. "Please." Her voice was firm and sincere. It was true. Her request was unimaginably selfish, but she was tired. So tired…

She could feel how the beautiful woman's hands trembled as she desperately tried to supress new tears from welling up. The nod she felt against her brow was more of an answer than she deserved, at least in her opinion.

"Thank you." She whispered. With tenderness her body had not forgotten she helped the black-haired woman stand up before gathering her up in a tight embrace. She could feel the dampness at the side of her neck, where the taller woman had rested her head, but she didn't make a sound. She didn't really know how long they'd stood there like that, but she could tell from the slower breathing and the body language of the girl with emerald-green eyes that it was time.

"This is farewell, Cas." Max eased out of the embrace and the taller, raven-haired woman let her. Standing on her toes and slightly, but without force pulling at Cassandra's hands to tell her to lower herself a bit, she gave the woman a soft, warm kiss on the forehead. "Stay safe and become happy. I know you will." She let go of the other woman and with the silence slowly settling between them again she left.

She didn't hear the whisper of the tall beauty as she pressed her lips against the pendant she now held in her hand and which was identical to that that she wore.

"I'll always love you, Max Caulfield."

* * *

About three hours before the event at the barn.

The knock at his door came unexpected. Even more unexpected was that the one entering his room was a girl. The young woman dressed in an all-black rocker-attire didn't even wait for him to answer or get up from behind his desk to open the door, but barged in closing it behind herself.

"What do you want? Don't your groupies leave you alone? Is that it?" Nathan Prescott asked the young woman warily. After the concert at the party last week he'd been pestered nearly every day with requests to throw another party just with this band as a main act.

"I'm here about the Dark Room, Nathan." The answer shot straight as an arrow and the young man froze in place for a moment before instinctively springing up from where he sat and taking on a defensive pose.

"I don't know what you're talking about. You're talking bullshit!" The rocker-girl had something ominous about her that he couldn't really put his finger on. But knowing from experiencing trauma himself and taking strong meds against his mood swings, depression and other issues, he instinctively knew that the woman standing with the back to his door and effectively cutting him off from the only possible escape-route was prone to violence and had severe outbursts of anger.

"Cut the crap, Nate. I know you can be a real prick, but this line of continuing the conversation will not get you anywhere. Except for beaten and bloody on the floor." She shot him a cold glare, but otherwise didn't seem all to intent on making her threats reality. "So listen up, dipshit. In any other scenario I'd gladly crack your skull against the very table you were sitting at within a second, but I know that you have a kind-hearted and easy-going side on you too and that, surprisingly, people even care about you. Weird as that might be."

"Anyways. As I said, I'm here regarding the Dark Room in the bunker of the old farmstead belonging to the Prescotts. The one Jeffer-shit is using for his sick idea of creating art." The rocker went on and the young man involuntarily made a step back. It was not that he was really afraid, more than that the woman's words angered him, but the detail of information she displayed in these short sentences was undeniable and made him wary.

"I don't know a thing of what you're talking about. None of it makes any sense to me." He protested whilst fixing the young woman with brown-red hair with his eyes. He'd be prepared if she'd try anything funny.

"You little shit-for-brains really want to test my patience, huh? I told you to listen up, so quit japing and start using whatever turd it is you call your brain-cells today." The tone of her voice alone was enough to silence him, for now at least, as it held the promise of more pain than just a few broken bones. "I don't know why I'm even bothering with this, but her it is the thing. I have several copies of information about you, your family, Jeffer-dick and the whole dirty little project of his. Information about him using you as a drug-mule and a lure to drug and kidnap young female students from this Academy to make his 'special' photo-sessions. Information about you intending to try and mimic him. Information about you seeing him as a father-figure. Information about him just seeing you and your family's wealth as a neat little safe-haven and useful tool to achieve what he wants. Information, which in about four hours the police and the Feds will possess as well, if my sense of time is not completely screwed over. So here's the deal – you confess. Everything. This could maybe even mean that you won't have to go to jail for as long as you might have to. Maybe you won't even have to go to jail at all, taking into account that your family could bail you out. And in return I won't break every second bone in your body."

The young Prescott had gone pale by that time. In him the emotions of fright and anger were boiling at the same level, rendering him unable to decide if he should fight back or respond in any kind.

"Don't believe me? Take a look at this." The young rocker must have seen the struggle going on in the boy with light brown hair as she drew a hand from behind her back holding several beige-coloured folders, which she promptly threw on the bed of the young man.

"What's that supposed to be?" Nathan asked warily glancing at the folders on his bed before focusing on the rocker again.

"A copy of the information, to be more precise, a copy of Jeffer-bitch's personal log about everything, including, how he thinks about your relationship. Go on, read it." Max rolled her eyes, but her tone retained a severe edge.

"T-That's a trick! I'm not having any of it!" The young man with blue eyes half-shouted his protest, but was quickly silenced with a glare from the young girl with the wolf-tattoo, which spoke bloody murder.

"Read it, you slimy, little piece of dirt." It was more a snarl and a threat than anything else.

Reluctantly the young man approached the bed far enough to snag the folders from it before retreating back to his initial position not letting the rocker out of his sight.

As he opened one of the folders it already became evident that the young woman named Max Caulfield had not lied about having information about actually everything. Flying over the documents in the first and second folder made the hair stand on his neck. It was there, everything. Just as she'd said.

The third folder contained copies of electronic and handwritten pages of what seemed to be Mr Jefferson's personal diary. It was unmistakably Jefferson's handwriting and the information matched. As he became more and more immersed in the information he had been handed he felt more and more weightless. It was a very contradictory feeling as it was not quite the weightlessness one would feel at being relieved and it was not the weightlessness one would feel when being confronted by imminent death. It was something in between the two mixed with a good amount of fear, panic and anger. Still, looking up from the papers he'd just read he couldn't bring himself to act in any way than just to stare at the woman in front of the door.

"Jeffer-ass will be dealt with accordingly. Taken into account that he's murdered people before and it would have happened again eventually, I presume he'll get life-time or capital punishment. Nearly hundred percent sure it'll be capital punishment." The young Prescott didn't need to know that most probably the psychopathic man he'd somehow viewed as a foster-father would die by her hands even before the police would arrive to secure the area.

For what seemed a long time none of them spoke and they just stared each other in the eyes. Eventually Nathan lowered his head in defeat. It was over. Everything was over. The only thing he could hope for was that it wouldn't fall back on his sister. To Hell with his father, but Kris didn't deserve this.

"I'll confess." He muttered as the one side normally only his sister would see in him won over. And as bizarre as it might be and to his own surprise, for the first time in his life the young Prescott felt like he'd actually stood up against his fate of being used and abused by the ones who surrounded him. That he'd actually get something right for once…

"Good boy." He looked up, for even as the woman's comment could be interpreted as an insult, it held no real edge to it. It nearly spooked him as much as when she'd threaten him, for her eyes held no real malice in them.

She turned to leave and already was half-way out of the door, when she suddenly turned locking eyes with him. Her eyes were cold. So incredibly cold that the thought occurred to the man that those were the eyes of someone who has killed before. He somehow felt like a little animal confronted by a giant python. He didn't dare move.

"You can keep the copy or do whatever you want with it. Stay away from Jeffer-freak though, if you treasure your skin. Oh, and - Stay. Away. From. Chloe. And. Rachel. I'm warning you for your own good. If you approach them – I'll know. If you do something to them – I'll know. If you hurt any of them – I'll know. And I will find you, and I will murder you. Slowly and brutally. Is that clear?" There was a tension in the air that one might have actually succeeded in hanging an axe in thin air. He nodded. A venomous smile appeared on her lips, which never reached her eyes and sent shivers down his spine. "Excellent. Try not to choke to death on your tongue, when your turn for confession is up."

And with that she closed the door, leaving the young man to wallow in his own misery until the police would gather him up.

* * *

A carefully planned and performed rewind and approximately an hour after the events at the barn later.

The young girl with the butterfly-tattoo stopped before the house of a certain blue-nette. It was hard to say what she felt and for the most part she'd say it was fear, but then again – why should she be afraid. Hadn't she been rejected quite clearly? Maybe it was more the anxiousness of the punk-girl not even wanting to face her. She'd disappear from her life wordless and without a sign again, but this time permanently. It was already evening and judging by the fact that she hadn't been at the junkyard or at the Academy, it was Max's best bet to try looking if she was at her parent's house.

Her fears of not meeting the blue-haired punk were erased when the girl in question walked out of the door of the house and approached Max's car. She didn't have her trademark beany on letting the wind tussle up her blue bangs. As it was not raining anymore and had gotten surprisingly warmer over the last hours, she was wearing a light jacket and matching boots.

Max breathed in and exhaled slowly again, before she got out of the car and rounded it so that she'd stand in front of the woman she loved. Chloe didn't even look her way and again was hugging herself tightly as if to prevent Max from approaching her any further. A wry smile played at Max's lips as she noticed it. She'd expected as much.

"Hey, Blue-Jay." She greeted the taller woman, who at the mentioning of the nickname she'd given her before everything went to Hell and she had rewound to prevent it all, looked up towards her. The anxiousness was clearly written all over her face.

"Max, I-… I don't know why you think of me in the way you do, or why you feel what you feel for me the way you do, but-" The blue-nette started but was cut off, when Max raised a hand.

"I know. You love your angel - Rachel. It's always been that way. Every time, every timeline. Except for one. This is not the second exception it seems." A dry, mirthless laugh erupted from her, as she felt the tears pricking her eyes. This was way harder than she'd expected it to be. ' _When has giving up on the one you truly, wholeheartedly and selflessly love or doing the right thing ever been easy?_ ' The voice asked in a tone that suggested the sad smile; a quiet whisper on the verge of tears. "I know you talked to Cas, despite me asking Rachel to prevent that from happening. I can guess what you and Cas have talked about, so I presume you know part of what has happened to me. If you believe it or not is up to you…"

"No, Max, that's not-" Chloe began again, but was cut short by the rocker-gal.

"Anyways. That is not why I came here today. I just wanted to let you know that I'll be transferring tomorrow. I've already arranged everything. I don't know where I'll be going, but as I don't need to return to the Academy to be officially transferred, I'll drive off today already." She couldn't stop the tears from rolling down her cheeks. She looked away. "Wanted to say it to you in person, so that you know this time beforehand. I'm bailing on you again, I guess."

"Max, no, listen-" The punk-girl's voice reached a higher note as the sheer panic she felt threatened to overwhelm her. She had to do say everything she had to – fast.

"Go on. Yell at me. Curse me. Blame and hate me all you want. As I said – I'm through. Keep you angel close. She'll need you soon, just as much as you need her and will have it tough for a while, so be there for her-" She'd turned to walk towards her car as she said those bitter words through stifled sobs, when the blue-nette grabbed her hand and forcefully turned her to face her way, simultaneously placing a hand on her chin, raising it. This time around it was Max's turn to stand petrified in shocked silence as everything she'd said, everything she'd wanted to say, every thought, every little thing in the world seemed to go blank. Everything. Except for the warm, sweet lips of the taller woman planted firmly on hers. She could feel how, as when the blue-haired punk let go of her wrist, her arms instantly closed around the waist of the woman kissing her, seeking her support in holding herself upright as suddenly her knees felt weak and she felt like she could fall down any moment. Her mind nearly went blank, when she felt a hand of the blue-nette setting firmly around her own waist and the other settle in her hair, whilst the punk-girl leaned her head to a side so that they could deepen the kiss. She could feel how the salt from tears mixed with the unbelievable sweetness of Chloe's lips. That sweetest of tastes she'd already thought erased from her life, except for her memories. Though she couldn't tell of the salt was from her own tears or from those of the other woman, as she'd instinctively closed her eyes, when she'd realised she was being kissed by the blue-haired punk. She broke it only when both their bodies screamed for them to breathe in the much needed oxygen.

"For fucks sake! Would you shut up for a minute?" Chloe hadn't let go of her and as such the yell from this close a distance came as unexpected as the kiss preceding it. For a moment Max thought she was even unable to blink. The look in the punk-girl's eyes was somewhere between anger, fear, despair, warm, loving and pleading. It was hard to think about anything or even respond at that time for the young rocker as the only things she was aware of was the warmth of Chloe's body against her, the mesmerizing beauty of her eyes, the sweet taste of her lips, that she had so longed for.

"What I wanted to say was that just don't know how to approach this!" Something seemed to have snapped in the punk-girl, but in a good sense, as she finally poured out everything she had to say in one go. "I had confessed to Rachel back on Christmas, but she'd said she needed time to think about it. What we had was real and I loved her and still do, but she rejected me last Sunday directly and decisively. We decided to stay friends. Not friends with benefits or anything, but just good friends. She didn't and doesn't feel the same as I did or do and had others she loved equally. To be honest I don't know how I feel about it all, but I know that that has nothing to do with how I feel about you, even if I don't fully understand how I feel about you myself. All I know is that you're hella important to me. Have always been and will always be. Rachel's gonna go to California with her parent's at the end of the semester and who knows if we'll ever see each other again. And this all might sound like I'm just totally freaking and having a panic attack because I was rejected and then both of you drop such bombshells on me, but it's not! I don't know how everything will work out or even if it will work out and I'll need time to heal and learn to know what it is I feel for you, but if you still love me then, maybe what we have can develop and grow and work out after all." She sighed in frustration before looking at the shorter girl she was still holding close to herself. "Shit! Why does everything with love and emotions have to be so complicated? Why can't I just know that I love you, even if deep down I know I do? Why does it feel so weird and wrong and at the same time makes me doubt everything I've known about love all along? Why can't it be so easy like in the movies? Why do I keep blabbing? And why the Hell are you laughing, Max Caulfield?" The punk-girl concluded her ceaseless ranting, when she saw and finally realised the trembling of the other woman was not from cold or anything, but from the laughter that was bubbling up in her.

The young rocker was helpless as the sheer joy she felt at the words of not being outright rejected and even given a chance by the woman she loved washed over her. She couldn't stop laughing, nor could she stop her tears from trickling down her cheeks, and so she just pressed herself against the taller girl, tightening the embrace. It was after a few heartbeats that she felt the blue-nette lean into her and place her head on her shoulder. She didn't really know how much time passed as they just stood there holding on to one another as if fearing that letting go would mean that the other would just disappear. At one point Max had managed to stop laughing, but a stupidly happy grin still was on her face, as she closed her eyes and just listened to the heartbeat of the blue-haired punk-girl, simply basking in the moment and the closeness of her beloved Chloe.

' _Chloe. My Chloe…_ ' She thought she heard the voice she'd grown used to whisper warmly and with unbound love as it slowly faded. ' _I guess this is goodbye, me from a happier timeline. Take care of our, Blue-Jay, will you?_ ' Her only reply to the voice was to tighten the embrace and nuzzle against the crook of the blue-nette's neck. ' _And don't forget the storm_. _Or about me!_ ' She could feel the warm smile faintly, before it vanished. Somehow she knew that from this point on she wouldn't be able to use her power anymore. This would be their story. Playing out how it should be – in one go. Without re-tries and with just their hearts to guide them. The storm would be a thing she'd have to deal with, but – 'one thing at a time'.

"Max?" Tightening the hug seemed to have prompted the slightly older girl to take it as an invitation to say something more.

"Hm?" The rocker-gal replied, slightly turning so that she now could kiss the woman she loved on her cheek.

"Don't leave me, okay? Please, don't ever leave me." It was barely above a whisper, but in this frail tone of hers was so much pleading warmth and love laid bare… How could she ever thing that Max would abandon her?

"I'll never leave you again, Chloe. I'll never ever leave you, my Blue-Jay." She kissed the punk-girl tenderly on her cheek. "I love you and I always will." She felt how Chloe tightened the embrace on her part and was slightly, but very positively surprised, when she felt the punk-girls lips form a small kiss against the skin of her neck.

Again another amount of unknown time passed in silence before the punk-girl spoke up again.

"Max? Erm… Could- Could we go inside? My nose is getting cold. Freakily warm weather or not it's still the dead of the night and I'm not dressed as warmly as you are." She said with a bit of awkwardness playing in her voice and looking a bit embarrassed as she eased the embrace but didn't quite let go of the other girl.

"Uh-la-la! Aggressive! I like that." Max just grinned in response and hooked one arm though Chloe's, setting off towards the house and prompting the blue-nette to stumble slightly behind.

"Max, your car-" Chloe started to say, but was shushed by a quick peck from the rocker on her cheek, whilst she theatrically pointed her car-keys to towards her ride and pressed the button causing the alarm-system to activate and the doors to lock themselves.

"C'mon, Chloe. You're ruining the mood. Let's get inside first." Max said with a mischievous grin, amused at her best friend, her beloved Chloe, turning as red as a beetroot, as she quietly let the rocker drag herself inside her own house.

* * *

(Not?) THE END

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **Hey, guys and gals. Well… this is it. It seems. Though, at least one or two chapters will most probably follow sometime in December. Maybe closer towards Christmas. I don't know. Really sorry that I couldn't get this one out as originally planned. Hope you'll like it.**

 **Please don't kill me over it!**

 **With that said - cheers and have a great day and a wonderful rest of the week ;)!**

 **Yours,**

 **Bovragor**

* * *

1 This time around I'd like to play dirty and let you, the reader, decide which song most fits which part of the overly long sub-chapter. :P


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